A murderer who violently killed a disabled man he was supposed to be caring for and left his body to rot for 12 days has been jailed for 19 years.
Leon Pratt’s body was discovered by paramedics wrapped in a duvet and decomposing on his bed at home in Telford, Shropshire, on October 26, 2024.
Concerned neighbours had raised the alarm after not seeing the 64-year-old for weeks.
Paramedics went round to check on Mr Pratt but found Jason Trundle, 52, his ‘unofficial carer’ and the stench of a rotting body.
Body cam footage released by West Mercia Police shows the medics arriving at Mr Pratt’s house, with one asking his colleague ‘can you smell that?’
Once inside, Trundle pointed at a closed bedroom door and told them: ‘In there. He’s been dead about 12 days’.
Trundle was vague about how Mr Pratt had died. When asked how he had found him, he simply said ‘I’m not going to comment on that’.
He then added: ‘I didn’t kill him. He just died’.
When asked if he had told anyone, the killer replied ‘nope’ before saying: ‘Nobody knows I’m here, I don’t have any money, I’ve gotta look after that dog.
‘So where am I gonna go and what am I gonna do?’
After further probing by the paramedics, he boldly told them ‘I’m not gonna answer any questions.’
Trundle said his victim was ‘off the plot’ and ‘going stupid’ due to his health conditions, claiming he ‘had to lock him in the house’ whenever he left to do the shopping.
The killer said: ‘He would literally spiral out of control.’
When police arrived, they asked how Mr Pratt died, with Trundle responding: ‘Next question.’
He was then arrested at the scene.
Trundle was initially bailed but then charged with murder after a post mortem revealed that Mr Pratt had suffered several significant injuries to his back, ribs and neck.
These injuries were consistent with strangulation and would require ‘considerable force’ to inflict, the jury was told.
Trundle admitted manslaughter but denied murder so stood trial at Stafford Crown Court.
He previously admitted preventing a lawful burial and fraud by false representation after using Mr Pratt’s bank card in a local shop while he lay dead at home.
The court heard that Trundle moved in with Mr Pratt after they met on social media about a year and a half before the murder.
The killer had nowhere to live and would provide day-to-day care for Mr Pratt who was disabled in a wheelchair with several health conditions.
Prosecutor Richard Barraclough KC told the jury:’He told Mr Pratt he was homeless and was invited to live with him. He was Mr Pratt’s unofficial carer.’
Neighbours in Downemeade, in the Hollinswood area of Telford, called 999 to alert authorities that Mr Pratt had not been seen since the end of September 2024.
Paramedics ‘could smell something putrid like rotting flesh coming from the property’, Mr Barraclough said during his opening speech.
They arrived at about 7.30pm and just before 8.30pm, Trundle was arrested on suspicion of murder after revealing Mr Pratt’s rotting body.
The victim’s last phone activity was on September 27, 2024 – the same day his car was last used.
Detective Inspector Joanne Delahay, of West Mercia Police, said: ‘Trundle’s act of violence and the weeks of deceit that followed, which denied Leon and his family the opportunity to lay him to rest respectfully, is deplorable.
‘Leon clearly trusted Jason with his life, and he took that away from him.
‘We welcome the decision made by the jury and thankful Leon’s family only had to wait another day for Trundle to be sentenced.
‘I hope it brings some closure to Leon’s family and those that knew him.’
Trundle was convicted of murder by jurors and jailed for life, with a minimum term of 19 years, at Worcester Crown Court on Friday, April 10.
