Walsall man 'punched and kicked to death' after he celebrated son's engagement with family

A man was punched and kicked to death in a Welshpool street after he celebrated his son's engagement with his family, the start of a murder trial has heard.

Young John Mongan, 49, fell to the floor and remained motionless on the road after the sustained and violent assault by Martin Slezak, Caernarfon Crown Court was told.

Slezak denies murder.

Prosecuting, David McLachlan opening the case said Slezak is of Polish origin but speaks good English, while the Mongan family come from Walsall, in the West Midlands.

He told the jury that on Saturday, June 27 the Mongan family visited Welshpool as Young John Mongan's son David had asked to marry Welshpool woman Winnie Stokes.

Mr McLachlan said the family had travelled to Welshpool to introduce themselves to the Stokes family.

He said the Mongan family are "proud members of the travelling community".

The jury were shown pictures of the Mongan family with Winnie Stokes on the evening at the Smithfield Bell pub before they went to the Wellington Pub on Berriew Street at about 9pm.

Slezak and his friend Lukasz Gzik also entered the Wellington pub but there was no interaction between them.

At 1.15am John Anthony Mongan, Mr Mongan's friend walked to Best Kebab and Mr Mongan followed later. Slezak and Mr Gzik were already at the kebab shop.

The prosecution said there was an altercation in the shop after Mr Mongan dropped some food onto Mr Gzik's leg and he complained his clothes were destroyed.

The altercation spilled onto the street where Mr McLachlan says Mr Mongan was followed by Slezak as he backed out of the kebab shop's porch.

He said Mr Mongan was struck to the head, falls to the floor and that Slezak struck him "again and again and again with his fists".

"Young John Mongan was not putting up a fight," he said.

He said Mr Mongan did not break his fall and while he lay motionless on the floor on his back Slezak struck him to the head with force four or five times.

"He was on his back defenceless, and (his friend John Anthony Mongan) intervenes as you'd expect to try to help his friend, he ended up in a scuffle with Slezak which the prosecution say was out of control."

Mr McLachlan said Slezak then goes back to kick Mr Mongan to the head.

Two women, dressed for a night out, run towards him, but at 3.01am he was declared dead.

Slezak and Mr Gzik then moved away from the scene, speaking in Polish.

Mr Gzik speaking in Polish, is heard to call Slezak an "idiot", and say, "mate, what the f*** have you done?".

Slezak replies: "I won't let anyone hit you, I'm looking out for you".

Slezak faces two charges - murder and manslaughter. The jury was told they can convict on either count, but that they cannot convict him of both.

Mr McLachlan says: "It's the prosecution case that shortly after midnight on Sunday June 28 Slezak attacked Young John Mongan firstly with his fists and finally with his foot. The prosecution will say it was a sustained and violent assault which would lead to Young John Mongan's death."

He said Slezak denies murder, as he was acting in self-defence, that he lacked intent to cause serious harm, and that he lost control.

"But for what he did, Young John Mongan would be here today," Mr McLachlan tells the jury.

"When you watch the footage, Martin Slezak intended that Young John Mongan should be really serious harmed. In simple terms, you can see Martin Slezak punching and kicking a man to death."

The jury was shown body-worn camera footage from afterwards shows police outside Slezak's home in stanley Street.

At interview the following day, he tells officers he denies the allegation of murder, and says his defence was "a loss of control".

A pathologist was instructed and said Mr Mongan suffered blunt injuries to his face and head, adding that he was intoxicated and that he had heart issues.

Two samples recovered during the post-mortem found that in terms of alcohol consumed, he was two to three times over the drink-driving limit.

Slezak, in turn, was two to five times the limit, but no more precise calculation could be made.

The jury have been shown the Mongan family tree. Mr Mongan has been married to Margaret for 32 years, Mr McLachlan says, and together they have 12 children, of whom David is their eighth.

Detective Constable Andrew Leonard went through the timeline of the incident and talked through maps and CCTV footage. Photographs of injuries sustained by Slezak were shown to the jury including a graze on the bridge of his nose and red marks on his right leg. His right hand appeared swollen with cuts to the knuckle and he reported soreness to his right toe.

The injuries to Mr Mongan were shown in a computer generated graphic – including a gash on the right side of the forehead, a large bruise to his left cheek and eye and another to the left of his forehead.

He said despite the best efforts of the emergency services who attended, Mr Mongan was declared dead at 3.01am and police arrived at Slezak's home on Stanley Street at 6.31am to arrest him.