Killer guilty after victim's cry heard on 999 call

A neighbour's 999 call captured a man's desperate cries for help as he was attacked in a Birmingham flat, a court heard, as his killer was found guilty of murder.

Mark Regan, 60, died in hospital two weeks after being attacked by Paul Holloway, 39, in his room at the property in Tew Park Road.

Both men had gone to the flat at around 1.45pm on 17 April. Ten minutes later, a neighbour called 999 to report seeing Holloway viciously attacking Regan. A second neighbour also contacted police, with the victim's cries for help audible in the background of the call.

Holloway was convicted on Monday after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court and will be sentenced on 11 December.

Officers arrived shortly after the attack and found Holloway, who was under the influence of cocaine, shouting for help and behaving erratically.

They discovered Regan lying badly injured inside the flat.

He was taken to hospital but never regained consciousness and died on 30 April.

Holloway was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder. The charge was later upgraded to murder following Mr Regan's death.

Det Insp Ade George, who led the investigation, said Holloway had claimed Mr Regan was attacked by someone else and that he had discovered him afterwards and tried to raise the alarm.

However, he said the evidence pointed to Holloway being responsible, including a shoeprint from his trainer found on Mr Regan's jumper.

George said: "This was a violent and sustained attack. Sadly, we may never know the reason why it happened.

"Our thoughts are with Mr Regan's family today, and we hope that this verdict is able to give them some closure."

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