Chesterfield pensioner murder - 'Graham Snell has been blackened by this man for the purposes of saving his own scrawny neck'

Daniel Walsh is accused of murdering Graham Snell at the home they were sharing in Marsden Street in the days after the 71-year-old discovered Walsh, 30, had accessed his bank account.Prosecutor Peter Joyce QC told the jury in his closing speech at Derby Crown Court, on Wednesday, December 9, had murdered Mr Snell after he reported the matter to police and had his cards stopped, after Walsh set up online banking on Mr Snell’s account from a computer at Chesterfield library.Walsh claims that, on the evening Mr Snell had died, they had been drinking heavily and snorting cocaine, and had later found him dead on the toilet and panicked because he thought he would be blamed for the pensioner’s death.

Mr Joyce told the court: "What we do know is that this was completely unpleasant. Let's just think about it and compare these two men. You have seen Daniel Walsh in the witness box - he was giving different answers to the same question, we saw him ducking and diving, and just how pathetic his latest attempts were.“Graham Snell has been blackened by this man for the purposes of saving his own scrawny neck. What we do know about Graham Snell is that he was a private man, he was a lovely man, he was a gentle man, he was a considerate man and he was a neighbourly man."Referencing Walsh’s first interview with police, Mr Joyce said: "He knew where he was - he'd been fed to the badgers, he'd been dumped in the bin."And describing comments made to police by Walsh, stating he was trying to help officers as much as he could, Mr Joyce said: "If you believe that, you'll believe that pigs are flying past the window."He continued: "It's all complete and utter nonsense. If he was telling the truth he'd be able to tell you what happened, but he can't. If he's got an account that is truthful, that is honest, why can't he get it right? Because his complete story is a lie. It's complete baloney and he's trying to persuade you that it's true. He's taking you to be gullible fools.

"He said that Graham Snell had taken cocaine on the night he died. WOW! Why not mention that before yesterday? Because he has to make up a reason for Mr Snell being found dead, and he had to make up a reason for not reporting it."Describing the moment Walsh returned to Marsden Street after Mr Snell had reported him to police, Mr Joyce said: "Can you imagine the scene when he walked in the door? Who was livid, who had just been rumbled? Mr Snell was livid, he [Walsh] had just been rumbled and he still didn't have any money.He's desperate. The only way he can get his money now is if his uncle is dead. He killed him, he behaved appallingly to his remains, then he set off to enjoy himself - all while his uncle was barely cold."Walsh denies murder.The trial continues.

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