Boy 'lied' about murdered woman

Kelly Hyde went missing as she walked her dog

A 17-year-old boy accused of murdering a hairdresser has told a court he had "persistently" lied to police when they questioned him about her death.

He told a jury at Swansea Crown Court he had not seen Kelly Hyde or heard anything unusual while out walking.

The 24-year-old was battered to death with a barbell weight as she walked her dog Scrappy near Ammanford in Carmarthenshire last September.

The youth, who denies murder, said he had been smoking cannabis on his walk.

He admitted he did not mention for "some time" he had seen blood on the path where Ms Hyde was attacked or that he had found a dog lead covered in her blood.

The teenager said he was afraid of being implicated in her murder.

'Cupful of blood'

The prosecution claimed there was no blood on the path off Mill Terrace in Ammanford and said the youth's shoes became stained in Ms Hyde's blood when he bludgeoned her to death on 27 September last year.

Giving evidence the youth said he could explain the blood stains only by saying he must have walked through the blood he saw on the ground.

He said also immediately after seeing "about a cupful of blood on the floor" he noticed a dog lead and picked it up. He said he did not notice the lead also had blood on it.

He told the court he then heard about a missing person and later a murder investigation. He panicked and hid the lead in the attic of his home.

Questioned by prosecutor, Patrick Harrington QC, he agreed he should have told the police about the lead on several occasions, when an officer called making general inquiries and later when he was questioned as a suspect.

During cross examination, he agreed he had not mentioned seeing any blood on the bridle path until police told him they had found Ms Hyde's blood on his shoes.

Cannabis

"The reason is that that day you exploded into anger for reasons only you know. You killed Kelly," said Mr Harrington.

"No," said the youth.

He said he was concerned about telling anyone about the dog lead.

"I didn't want to get sucked into it. I didn't know what the police would say. It had gone from a missing person to a murder investigation," he said.

Earlier he said he had got up late on the day Ms Hyde was murdered and watched a DVD, before taking his dog for a walk along the path near the village of Pantyffynnon.

He said he was in a good mood on his walk as he had just been told he had got a job. He had also been smoking cannabis.

The youth, who was 16 at the time, told the court the weights found at his home were given to him by his mother's ex-boyfriend.

The prosecution says the murder weapon came from the same set but the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said there had never been a complete set.

The trial continues.