An entirely innocent victim was lured to a dark laneway where he was subjected to a brutal and savage beating and left to die by his killer, a man devoid of remorse, a court heard today.
Coleraine Crown Court also heard that after his wife claimed to David Austin that she had been sexually assaulted by Steven Peck, the 59-year-old was “ruminating and planning” for two days before the victim was “lured” into a trap.
Instead of asking his wife for further details or reporting her claims to the police, an approach described by Mr Justice O’Hara as showing “a striking lack of curiosity,” Austin armed himself with a knife and donned a balaclava and gloves before Mr Peck was “ambushed” on January 3, 2021.
“Mr Austin has admitted that from January 1, he was very angry and he wanted to take action,” prosecuting KC Geraldine McCullough said
She emphasised however, despite Austin’s claims about what he was told by his wife, there was not only a lack of evidence to substantiate the claims made by Helen Austin, “there is absolutely no truth to the allegations about Steven Peck.”
As long ago as June 2023, Austin, from Cherry Gardens in Ballymoney, entered a guilty plea to the murder of Mr Peck and accordingly, he was handed a life sentence.
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