News
Two men accused of conspiring to hire a hit man to kill the estranged wife of one of them have been found not guilty.
A trial was previously told Paul Lewis, 54, had paid Dominique Saunders, 35 – both from Swansea – £1,500 to arrange the killing of Mr Lewis’s estranged wife Joanne Atkinson-Lewis between February and April 2023.
But the defence teams of both men told the jury that Saunders had scammed Lewis out of the money and never had the ability or intention to arrange a hit man.
After deliberating for two hours and twenty minutes, the jury acquitted both men on Monday afternoon.
Both men chose not to give evidence in their trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.
The jury was also told if they believed either man to not be guilty of the conspiracy, both must be found “not guilty”.
Defending Mr Lewis, John Hipkin said the prosecution had ignored that Mr Lewis was mentally unwell and had spent some of the time in question on a psychiatric ward.
Mr Hipkin said Mr Lewis had paid £1,500 to Mr Saunders but that he had been “scammed” and the money had been spent by Mr Saunders on a holiday to Benidorm.
He said if the money had been paid to hire a hit man it would be “absolutely ridiculous” that Mr Lewis had contacted the police to complain he had been scammed.
Mr Hipkin reminded the jury of previous evidence from one witness that Mr Saunders had scammed Mr Lewis in the past.
He said the evidence in the case surrounded a “mentally unwell man and a scammer, a fraudster”.
Defending Mr Saunders, John Harrison said his client was known as “dippy Dominique” and incapable of arranging a hit man.
He said if the case “wasn’t so serious for the defendants it would be funny”.
“There is no evidence he was a hit man full-time, part-time or any time”, he added.
Mr Harrison told the jury his client had taken advantage of Mr Lewis when he was vulnerable by scamming him and taking the money.
He said Mr Saunders “may be worthy of condemnation” but it was not evidence of an agreement to kill Mrs Atkinson-Lewis.
Mr Harrison said Mr Saunders did not do anything “because there was no agreement between them and he had no intention to do anything about killing Joanne Atkinson-Lewis”.
He said: “It has always been a scam, never an agreement and he’s trying to get away with £1,500.”
Following the verdict, the judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, thanked the jury, saying they had carried out their role “diligently and carefully”.
