A WITNESS has told a murder trial how she saw one of the accused punching the victim in the face outside a social club where his burnt body was later found.
Demi Lee said she heard Emma Aitken screaming and shouting the name of her boyfriend and co-accused, Nathan Doherty, before looking out through blinds in the caravan where she was staying with her boyfriend
As she did so she said she watched as Miss Aitken repeatedly hit father-of-four Barry Smith in the face.
Miss Lee then told the jury she watched as Doherty and a third man accused of murder, Vincent Aitken, tried to drag Mr Smith's lifeless body away from the scene and across a car park.
Fighting back tears and giving evidence via videolink, Miss Lee said: "She (Miss Aitken) was punching him (Mr Smith) for quite a while, I did not really keep a track of time as to how many minutes it was really.
"Emma was screaming."
"While they (Doherty and Mr Aitken) were picking him up I could see there was blood all over his (Mr Smith's) face."
Miss Lee was asked by John Lloyd-Jones QC, for Miss Aitken: "The person screaming was Emma was it?"
She replied: "Yes."
Mr Lloyd-Jones asked: "Is it possible the thing that you heard her screaming was 'Nay (a nickname she had for Doherty)'?"
Miss Lee replied: "Yes, it definitely was."
The court was told that Miss Lee was staying the night in the caravan where her partner, Callum Bollington, lived and which was parked outside Kilburn Welfare Social Club.
Mr Bollington is the son of a fourth defendant,
Pamela Aitken. She is the partner of Vincent Aitken and is on trial for assisting an offender.
Leicester Crown Court has previously been told by the prosecution that Mr Smith, 48, was beaten to death with pool cues and a fence post, dragged to a pile of rubbish and his body set alight in a "savage and
merciless attack".
Dog walkers discovered his charred remains outside the club at 8am on October 6 last year.
Vincent Aitken, 44, of Chapel Street, Kilburn, his daughter Emma Aitken, 19, and her partner Nathan Doherty, 27, both of Portland Street, Derby, all deny the murder of Mr Smith.
Aitken's wife Pamela Aitken, 41, also of Chapel Street, denies assisting an offender in relation to Mr Smith's death.
Mr Smith, previously described by his family as "a proud gypsy" had lived in Kilburn for six years.
He lived in Mayfield Avenue with Miss Pearson and died from multiple injuries.
Mr Smith was a father to daughter Billy-Jo, 23, Barrie-John, 20, Luke, 19, and Nathan, 16.
He also had three grandchildren – Josephine-Star, two, Selina-Louise, one, and eight-month-old Arlie-John.
The trial continues.
