Husband lured wife's lover to his death at his farm, court hears
A builder lured his wife's lover to a remote farm before murdering him and disposing of his body, a court has heard.
Andrew Jones, 53, discovered his wife Rhianon, 51, was having an affair with 55-year-old Michael O'Leary, and killed him after "carefully planning" the murder, Swansea Crown Court was told.
Prosecutors said that Jones lured father-of-three Mr O'Leary to the farm he owned in Cwmffrwd, Carmarthenshire, on 27 January, where he killed him.
Mr O'Leary's family became worried when he failed to return home from work and they contacted police after receiving text messages saying: "I am so sorry x".
Mr O'Leary's car was found by Dyfed-Powys Police in Carmarthen, after a missing person's appeal.
But the jury heard that only a small part of Mr O'Leary's body was found.
William Hughes QC, prosecuting, said: "It is the prosecution case that this murder was carefully planned and undertaken by Andrew Jones, as were the steps taken by Andrew Jones to cover up or destroy the evidence of the crime, in particular the destruction of Michael O'Leary's body, in an attempt to hinder the police investigation.
"Michael O'Leary's body has never been recovered. On 14 March a piece of human tissue, a small intestine, was recovered from Andrew Jones's home at Bronwydd Road.
"Residue from a rusty oil barrel was being decanted by a forensic officer and they removed an item thought to be human tissue.
"Further forensic examination, including DNA testing, found a match for Michael O'Leary. The forensic scientist who made this discovery gives the opinion of this tissue having been burnt.
"It is the prosecution case that Andrew Jones was the last person to see Michael O'Leary alive. It is the prosecution case that Andrew Jones lured Michael O'Leary to another property he owned, Cyncoed Farm, and he died.
"The defendant does not accept that he murdered Michael O'Leary. It is suggested by the defence in documents to the court that Michael O'Leary was accidentally killed in the presence of Andrew Jones."
The court heard that Mrs Jones and Mr O'Leary used the same gym in Carmarthen, and by 2019, were having an affair.
Her husband found out after he read messages between them on his wife's tablet.
Mr Hughes said: "He confronted his wife and he was told the affair had ended because Mr O'Leary did not want to leave his wife.
"She said she did not love the defendant, nonetheless the two of them stayed together."
Andrew Jones's teenage daughter also learned of the affair and helped keep an eye on Mrs Jones, with the defendant confronting his wife again in November.
Mrs Jones and Mr O'Leary owned "secret" mobile phones, the jury was told, which they used to talk to each other.
Mr Hughes said on the morning of Mr O'Leary's death, Jones had taken his wife's secret phone and used it to contact her lover.
Data from cell site analysis shows the phone in the area of the farm, and messages were sent that gave Mr O'Leary directions, the court was told.
Automatic number plate recognition also placed the car in the area at the time.
Jones, of Bronwydd Road, Carmarthen, denies murder.
The trial continues.
