News

Jury out in chip shop murder trial

Published

6 years ago

November 18, 2019

THE JURY has retired to consider its verdict regarding the trial of a man who is charged with murdering his wife with a chip shop fryer.

Geoffrey Bran, aged 70 from Hermon in Carmarthenshire, is accused of murdering his wife Mavis on October 23 last year, and is alleged to have thrown scalding hot oil over her from a deep fat fryer, which gave her widespread burns and lead to her death later in hospital.

He had also burnt his own hand when he tried to help her remove her jumper, which was saturated in the boiling hot oil, by trying to pull it over her head.

Earlier this week, Bran gave evidence to the court in his own defence. He told the court that there would be arguments about nothing after his wife would drink alcohol and have ‘spells of paranoia moments’ in the day, but claimed he had never hit his wife during a confrontation. He said that Mavis would start drinking early, and would consume two and a half bottles of red wine.

Bran told the court they opened the Chipoteria because Mavis was doing some meals for elderly people in the village, and didn’t like retirement because she was always on the go. He said he built a cabin next to the caravan, which took around a year, because Mavis desperately wanted to open in January. He said he would clean and blanch chips, fry them, and clean the equipment after. Mavis would cook fish and pies, and make sauces.

On the day that Mavis died, Bran said Mavis was in a good mood, but had been drinking from around 9.30am that day. He said she consumed a brandy with two neighbours, and he didn’t notice anything different about her behaviour when she had been drinking.

Bran spoke about an order, for which his wife said the fat wasn’t good enough to cook the fish in. He said: “I said you may as well use my friers, I use you for chips, but you have to turn them down because they’re a bit high for fish.”

He claimed that shortly afterwards, she looking into the fryer and told him he had overdone them. He said: “I didn’t know I was meant to look after them. She said she was coming back straight away.”

With that, he said Mavis took the fish out with tongs and tossed them into a tray, resulting in a ‘waterfall of fat’. He told her he had seen worse on plates, and said he believed she wasn’t going to serve them.

He went on to describe that he went to blanch some chips, but happened to turn around to see that Mavis had fallen, and her head was about nine inches away from the floor.

He said: “I hadn’t seen her falling because I wasn’t looking at that point. I turned around and saw her flying to the floor. In the corner of my eye I could see the fat fryer moving on the table as if in slow motion, but it wasn’t slow motion. At the moment I was going to move I could see the legs … instantly the legs fell off the edge and the weight of the oil tipped the whole thing forwards the whole two tubs came out in one whoosh.

“Once the legs got over the edge the weight of the oil must have moved things fast without the tubs coming out and it was like a waterfall and landed on her chest.

“By this time now the whole unit was going through the air and landing on top of her, pulling the sockets out.”

He continued: “I grabbed her arm, grabbed her other arm, pulled her to a sitting position, and lift all her clothes off. I didn’t know whether I was doing the right thing to be honest. I just thought get the clothes off. She was wearing a thick jumper and a t-shirt underneath. Usually she wears a kitchen apron, but because we had guests that day she had forgotten to change.

“I grabbed the bottom of the jumper and pulled it off her head. I think the jumper came into contact with her face.”

When asked if he felt any pain, he said he couldn’t remember, and was trying to get her clothes off her.

He said: “I walk round her, grab her two arms and pull her to a standing condition. I pulled her to the slabs outside. At that point I forgot I didn’t have a phone. I’d forgotten to bring it down in the morning. We always took the mobile phone back to the house in the night to charge it.”

Bran said he told her to run up the house in order to call an ambulance. He said: “She screamed up the path. She was in shock but she knew what was happening. I could see her arms were peeling. That’s about it really because all the rest was quite red.”

When asked why he didn’t go with her or why he didn’t comfort her, she said he didn’t know and was ‘totally stumped’.

The court heard how when a customer came in, Bran told them there had been an accident, but when he said he could go to Newcastle Emlyn, he said he would serve him. He said that Mavis was in a dressing gown shaking, and her face was white.

Bran was kept in custody until October 24. He was asked if he visited Mavis in hospital, but said he was told he was not allowed to.

He said he wanted to see her to say goodbye, and told the court that he misses her every day.

During cross examination, Bran was pressed as to why he didn’t comfort his wife of 30 years and ask about how she was. He told the court he ‘couldn’t face it’, but couldn’t say why.

He claimed that his wife deliberately lied to paramedics and blamed him for burning her. He said ‘they are all lies’, and said that she would always make things up and blamed him for everything.

Bran was asked, if he had helped to remove Mavis’ clothing, why he didn’t have burns on both hands. He couldn’t answer.

The court heard that Mavis suffered 46% burns to her total body area. The burns were both partial and full thickness.

The front of her body mostly suffered from full thickness burns, including her torso, thigh and neck. Her eyes were closed when she suffered the partial thickness burns to her face. Her eyelids were burned, but not her eyes themselves. There were no burns to the back of her hands, her palms or her fingers, but there were to her inner forearms. They were likely secondary burns, caused by the removal of her clothing.

The burns proved to be fatal when her condition deteriorated. As a result, the burns she suffered caused her death.

The jury retired at 12.51pm on Monday (Nov 18) to consider the case. Judge Paul Thomas QC, said: “Members of the jury I am now going to ask you to retire and consider your verdict in this case. There is no pressure of time. Take as short or as long time as needs be. As far as today is concerned, if you have reached a verdict that is well and good; if you haven’t you will be sent home and return tomorrow.”

The jury has since retired and the court awaits a verdict.

Crime

Prosecution delivers powerful closing speech in Christopher Phillips trial

Published

3 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Jury expected to retire shortly in Swansea Crown Court baby abuse case

THE TRIAL of Christopher Phillips, accused of inflicting catastrophic injuries on a 10-week-old baby in Haverfordwest, moved into its final stages today (Dec 5) as the last evidence was heard and the prosecution delivered a forceful closing speech at Swansea Crown Court.

***Christopher Phillips: Told the court earlier this week that he was “proud” of his appearance.***

Phillips, 34, of Kiln Park in Burton, is charged with causing serious physical and sexual harm to Baby C in January 2021. The infant was taken by ambulance to Glangwili Hospital in the early hours of January 24 after suffering life-threatening internal injuries.

The baby’s mother faces separate charges of allowing serious physical harm and child cruelty for allegedly failing to protect her child.

Final evidence presented

The court resumed at 11:09am, when the prosecution submitted its final exhibit: a detailed timeline reconstructed from Phillips’ mobile phone data, charting his visits to the mother’s flat in Haverfordwest.

Prosecutor Caroline Rees KC highlighted the distances between Phillips’ home, the mother’s address and Glangwili Hospital, telling the jury that the timings were central to understanding the sequence of events that night.

This concluded the evidential phase of the trial.

Judge issues legal directions

Late this morning (Friday, Dec 5) Judge Paul Thomas KC delivered his directions to the jury, outlining the legal tests required for convictions against both Phillips and the child’s mother. He reminded jurors to consider each charge separately and to apply the law only to the evidence they had heard.

Prosecution closing speech

In her closing address at early this afternoon, Rees KC told the jury that 10-week-old Baby C had been a “happy little baby” who showed “no signs of distress” in a video recorded by his father on January 23, 2021.

She said that within hours, by the early morning of January 24, the infant was in hospital with what she described as a “gaping tear in his anus”.

Rees KC argued that the evidence of who caused the injuries “points in one way – towards Christopher Phillips”.

Turning to the baby’s mother, she said the prosecution’s case was that she was “not without blame”, telling the jury that the mother had “failed in her duty to keep her baby safe”.

“She at the very least ought to have realised that her baby was at serious risk from the man she brought into her home,” Rees KC said. “She didn’t take any steps to keep that baby safe. She prioritised Christopher Phillips over her own child.”

Jury expected to retire

No defence closing speech was delivered today, that will be on Monday.

No further evidence is scheduled.

The jury is expected to retire early next week to begin its deliberations.

The case continues at Swansea Crown Court.

Farming

FUW urges government action as plunging dairy prices threaten family farms

Published

3 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE FARMER’s UNION OF WALES has sounded the alarm over a sharp and sustained collapse in dairy prices, warning that the situation is placing intolerable pressure on family farms already grappling with regulatory change, rising costs and wider economic uncertainty.

The Union convened an emergency meeting of its Animal Health and Dairy Committee last week to assess the scale of the crisis. Representatives from across Wales reported widespread anxiety, with many members seeing milk prices fall dramatically through the autumn. Processors are now signalling further cuts in early 2026, while commodity markets offer little sign of stability heading into spring.

Farmers, fearful of jeopardising commercial relationships, have approached the FUW confidentially to express grave concern about projected milk payments for the coming months. Many say the offers being made will fall far below the cost of production.

Average milk prices are forecast at just 30–35 pence per litre, against estimated production costs of 39–44 pence per litre (Kite Consulting). On current trajectories, the FUW warns a typical Welsh dairy farm could lose thousands of pounds per month for as long as the downturn persists.

Following its committee meeting, the Union raised the matter directly with Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS during talks in Cardiff on Wednesday, December 3. Officials stressed the immediate threat facing family-run dairy farms and called for urgent consideration of government support to prevent long-term damage to the sector.

Gerwyn Williams, Chair of the FUW Animal Health and Dairy Committee, said the pace of the price crash was “unprecedented”.

“Farmers are facing an impossible situation where input costs remain high while the value of their product plummets. The viability of many family farms is now at serious risk. We need immediate assurances that this crisis is being treated with the urgency it deserves.

“Some can weather a short storm, but rumours that this could continue into summer 2026 will see businesses shut. These modest family farms have already invested heavily to meet regulatory requirements. Cuts on this scale will severely impact their ability to service repayments.”

FUW Deputy President Dai Miles warned that the consequences extend far beyond farm gates.

“Dairy farming underpins thousands of jobs in Wales and is central to the economic, social and environmental fabric of rural communities. When prices fall this sharply, it isn’t just farmers who suffer — local businesses, services and entire communities feel the impact.

“We have made it clear to the Deputy First Minister that government must work with the industry to provide immediate stability and a long-term resilience plan.”

The FUW says it will continue to work with the Welsh Government, processors and supply-chain partners to seek solutions and secure fair, sustainable prices for producers.

Community

Haverfordwest’s first memory tree brings community together this Christmas

Published

4 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Spud Box is delighted to launch a brand-new festive initiative for the people of Pembrokeshire – Haverfordwest’s first Memory Tree, now open to the public at our premises.

The idea, inspired by Drew from The Big Pembs Panto, invites members of the community to write and hang personal messages on the tree. These can be tributes to loved ones, cherished memories, or simple Christmas wishes.

The project has been created to give people a meaningful way to connect during the festive season. All materials – including paper, plastic pockets and ribbon – are provided free of charge. Visitors are also welcome to enjoy complimentary hot drinks, kindly supplied by Connect: Pembrokeshire, along with mince pies donated by Brakes.

Anyone who prefers to create their message at home can bring it in, and the team will be happy to help attach it to the tree.

Donations are being encouraged in support of Sandy Bear Children’s Bereavement Charity, making the Memory Tree both a reflective and charitable community event.

The tree itself looks spectacular thanks to Sion from DSR Batteries, who supplied the lighting. The project has also received generous support from Marty at Sandy Bear Children’s Bereavement Charity and Pure West Radio. Spud Box welcomes other community groups or organisations who wish to get involved.