Sheffield murder trial hears victim was 'ready to blow' amid tension with neighbour accused of killing him

Lee Phillips was found seriously injured outside his home on South Road in the High Green area of Sheffield, shortly after 1am on Saturday, January 30, 2021.

27-year-old William Parr, who lived next door to Mr Phillips at the time of his death, is currently on trial at Sheffield Crown Court, accused of his murder, an offence he denies. Parr, of School Road, High Green, has also pleaded not guilty to one count of manslaughter, relating to Mr Phillips’ death.

During the second of the trial on Tuesday, February 8, 2023, statements from police officers, paramedics and a first responder who attended the scene said Mr Phillips was found to be ‘bleeding heavily’.

A police officer said Mr Phillips ‘appeared to have lost a lot of blood from his head area,' while a paramedic said he believed he was found with a ‘large head injury’.

Mr Phillips was unresponsive, and CPR was started by paramedics, and continued by police officers called to the scene, as medical equipment to assist in efforts to save his life was prepared. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Mr Phillips died a short time later.

A first responder also noted that Parr was ‘within the boundary’ of his adjoining property when he arrived on the scene, and while CPR was subsequently carried out on Mr Phillips.

The court heard how in the months leading up to Mr Phillips’ death, he and his partner, Susan Walliss, reported issues they were having with their next door neighbours to Sheffield City Council (SCC), friends and neighbours.

The issues included ‘loud music’ being played, the setting of fires in the back garden and a failure to secure the boundary between the adjoining gardens to prevent their dog from escaping into Mr Phillips and Ms Walliss’ garden.

Parr was not an occupant at the the property next door to Mr Phillips and Ms Walliss when the first complaints to SCC – which mainly centred around two individuals – were made by Ms Walliss in May 2020; but those individuals had left and Parr was believed to be living there, along with his partner, by December 2020, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, Ms Walliss’ cousin, Georgina Jones, who also lived nearby, said that despite the change in tenants at the property next door to Ms Walliss and Mr Phillips, the issues around loud music and fires ‘remained the same’.

SCC neighbourhood officer, Kendall Butcher, liaised with Ms Walliss over complaints she made about her neighbours, the first of which was received in May 2020.

Giving evidence to the court, Ms Butcher revealed she spoke to Ms Walliss concerning a complaint less than 24 hours before Mr Phillips’ death on Friday, January 29, 2021. During the course of the conversation, Ms Butcher said Ms Walliss had disclosed that Mr Phillips was ‘ready to blow due to the stress and anxiety’ caused by the continuing issues with their neighbours.

Ms Butcher said the conversation took place on a Friday, and she advised Ms Walliss she would not be working over the coming weekend, and to call the police should any concerns arise.

Ms Butcher also told the court that she went to speak to Parr’s partner about the complaints after coming out in person to discuss the ongoing situation with Ms Walliss on December 12, 2020. She said this came after Ms Walliss reported that she and Mr Phillips were awoken in the ‘early hours’ of that day by a fire that had been started next door.

Prosecution barrister, Richard Thyne KC, asked Ms Butcher: “What did she say about the loud music?”

“She admitted she was playing loud music, stated she had been starting fires in the garden,” Ms Butcher replied, adding that she did not see, or speak to, Parr during the same visit, when asked.

The trial continues.