Murder accused 'forgot' dog lead

Kelly Hyde went missing as she walked her dog

A teenager accused of murdering a dog walker told police he forgot he had found her dog's blood-soaked lead which was recovered from his house.

A jury at Swansea Crown Court heard how, when questioned initially after his arrest on suspicion of the murder of Kelly Hyde, he failed to mention it.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named, denies the charge.

Ms Hyde, 24, was beaten to death and dumped in a stream near Ammanford in Carmarthenshire last September.

The jury heard how during days of initial questioning by detectives after his arrest, the youth did not mention the lead.

In police statements read out in court, officers then told him it had been found at his home and that the blood on it came from Ms Hyde.

During the police interview the youth replied: "I do apologise. I panicked. I should have said from the start that I picked it up."

Blood stains

He said he had discovered it while out walking along the bridle path where Ms Hyde was attacked, adding he had taken it home "and forgot about it."

He denied seeing her body, or seeing her before she was killed.

Officers also questioned him about blood stains on his Lonsdale trainers, which, tests showed, had also come from Ms Hyde.

But he was adamant he had not seen any blood on the path.

He told detectives: "I walked the path and now I'm here for murder. There is something wrong here."

He demanded that police test the paws of his own dog, and the hooves of a horse he had seen on the bridle path, to see if they had also walked through blood without anyone realising.

Ms Hyde was murdered on 27 September.

The trial continues.