Elderly man told detective he'd been 'blackmailed' into handing over thousands to his alleged killer
Martin Glynn used some of his final words to tell a police officer that he had been forced to pay thousands to the man accused of killing him
Mr Glynn, who was allegedly ‘tortured’ by his friend Sam Field, transferred thousands of pounds to him in the six years before his death.
The 93-year-old died three months after an alleged 28-hour assault during which it’s said he was punched, kicked, strangled and stamped-on, causing bleeds to his brain and broken bones.
Prosecutors say Sam Field, 40, killed him. The defence say that although Field, of Gold Street, Desborough, admits assaulting Mr Glynn, he was not ultimately responsible for his death.
Yesterday (Thursday, April 23) prosecuting counsel Helen Rodger read agreed facts to the court.
This is evidence that is not disputed by either party, so is read to the jury by prosecution barristers and admitted into evidence.
‘He said he tormented him and blackmailed him’
Ms Rodger told the jury that Mr Glynn, of Park Square, Kings Heath, had been interviewed by DS Lee Bergin on September 22, 2024, the day after he was found ‘unceremoniously dumped’ in a shower tray in Field’s flat.
Shortly afterwards, while in hospital, Mr Glynn lost his ability to speak so this was the final account of the attack that he was ever able to give.
The court heard that DS Bergin saw multiple bruises covering Mr Glynn’s head and ear.
DS Bergin said in his witness statement: “Martin informed me.. Sam put his hands around his neck and squeezed.
"He said that Sam stated he was out to kill him.
"He squeezed so tightly that Martin thought he was going to die.”
DS Bergin said Mr Glynn had told him that Field would not allow him to be friends with anyone else, and that he believed he had been assaulted because he had spoken to other people.
DS Bergin said: “He stated that he’s given Sam Field thousands of pounds. He visited him every week and would give him £200 in an envelope.
“It’s been an ongoing arrangement since he got out of prison.
"He said he tormented him and blackmailed him.”
DS Bergin said he had asked Mr Glynn how he would blackmail him but said he ‘wouldn’t answer any questions about that’.
Mr Glynn told DS Bergin that he had ‘foolishly’ taken Field into his Park Square flat after he was released from prison on probation, and after living with him for a ‘short while’ he had moved next door to him.
701 cash withdrawals
The Honourable Mr Justice Stephen Eyre, who is overseeing the trial at Northampton Crown Court, heard that several bank accounts belonging to both the victim and defendant were analysed.
The transactions included 701 ATM cash withdrawals, in increasing amounts, by Mr Glynn between 2018 and 2024.
Between September 2021 and Mr Glynn’s death, he withdrew £21,780 in cash. The destination for that money was not identified in court.
The court also heard that Mr Glynn transferred £6,770 directly into Mr Field’s bank account in 71 instalments between 2018 and 2024.
‘There’s a war going on in Desborough’
The jury was also given some more detail about Field’s life in the build up to the alleged murder.
They heard that he moved into the one-bedroom flat at 47B, Gold Street, behind One Stop Shop in June, 2019.
His landlord, Nagajan Bapodara, lived in the next-door flat and ran the shop. The flats shared a communal entrance.
In a statement, Mr Bapodara said that he had seen Mr Glynn coming and going into Field’s flat over the years, and said he assumed he was his father.
He said he had not seen any other family members visiting Field.
But he had seen two other local people visiting to smoke cannabis, the smell of which had begin to come into the shop.
Mr Bapodara said Field also played loud video games and he had had to ask him to turn down the volume.
Eventually the landlord asked local estate agent Pattison Lane to take over the day-to-day management of the flat, which they did. And in 2024 Field twice phoned Pattison Lane to say ‘There’s a war going on in Desborough’, before putting down the phone.
‘Listening to music and collecting Microsoft coins’.
The court also heard details of a statement from Field’s probation officer Marie Pratt, who had been in her post for 23 years and had begun working with Field in November 2022.
Ms Pratt said she had no concerns about Field’s mental health until May 2024 when told her he thought his landlord was scamming him.
Field had been in a relationship with a woman from America who he met online while gaming, and she had come to visit him in June 2023, staying in a hotel, but in May 2024 he begun to believe she was cheating on him and they split. There were FB messages from and to four different women on Field’s phone.
Ms Rodger told the court: “Marie Pratt believed the break-up of his relationship and the issues with his landlord contributed to the deterioration of his mental health.
"She was worried he was smoking cannabis,” said Ms Rodger.
In April 2024, Field told her that he was struggling with his mental health and wasn’t sleeping. So in July 2024, after Miss Pratt noticed he had lost weight, she referred him to a probation well-being advisor Denise Garrett.
During several meetings, Ms Garrett became concerned about Field’s state of mind, so referred him to NHS talking therapy through the IAPT system.
At the end of August, Field contacted Ms Garrett to say that two men had rammed him off his motorbike. In the coming days she made two safeguarding referrals because he had indicated he wanted to take his own life.
During the alleged attack on Mr Glynn, Field called and texted both Ms Garrett and Ms Pratt but did not tell them what had happened.
On September 20, while Mr Glynn was allegedly lying on the floor, in a seven minute, 39 second call, Field told Ms Garrett he had been ‘listening to music and collecting Microsoft coins’.
Ms Rodger said: “He said he had to go because Martin needed help getting out of the shower. She’d not heard about Martin before.”
‘I know what I’ve done’
On October 20, 28 hours after Mr Glynn arrived at FIeld’s flat, the court was told that Field phoned 999 at 3.40pm, and twice at 9.05pm. EMAS, and the Northamptonshire Police control room, called him back four times, at 9.09pm, 9.14pm, 9.16pm and 9.17pm, before officers arrived at the flat to find Field standing at the end of the driveway and Mr Glynn lying ‘cold and damp’ in the shower.
PC Sam Roche arrested Field on suspicion of assault and he said: “I know what I’ve done”.
PC Roche reported that Field seemed ‘chatty and smiley’. He found two bags of cannabis in his jacket and re-arrested him on suspicion of possession of a Class-B drug.
His dark-grey t-shirt, navy tracksuit bottoms, blue Nike trainers and green jacket were seized, and Mr Glynn’s blood was found on the clothing.
Before he was interviewed, Field told an officer: “I haven’t slept for two weeks with everything that’s been going on in this situation..
"People have been going in and out of the windows. Things don’t add up now but I know they will add up in the future.
"If you see this blood on my shoe, if you get it tested, it’s not mine.”
When his flat was searched, crime scene investigators found blood on the walls, floor and skirting, screwed up tissues with blood on them, and a blood-soaked pillow. The blood was a billion-to-one match for Mr Glynn.
‘Go drive off a cliff’
After his arrest, Ms Pratt went to see Field in prison on October 8, 2024, while he was on remand for GBH. She said he was ‘emotional’ throughout the meeting.
Ms Rodger told the jury: “He said he felt bad about Martin Glynn as he’d been his friend for 20 years.
"He admitted kicking him and punching him and said he deserved to go to prison.”
The court was also told that Field had repeatedly messaged his brother Will during August 2024, causing him to go the police to report the harassment on August 29 after he called him eleven times in a few minutes.
He made all kinds of accusations about his childhood and ‘took offence’ when he heard his brother had a ‘different recollection’.
He claimed that as children he was pimped out’ and sent his brother texts saying ‘go drive off a cliff.’
The court also heard from a neighbour of Mr Glynn, who said that his mobility had been ok before the attack, and that he had always managed to look after himself and attend church without help.
Samuel Field, 40, denies murder and the alternate counts of manslaughter and grievous bodily harm.
Mr Glynn’s family have now given permission for the first photo of the 93-year-old to be released, which is featured in our coverage today.
Court will not be sitting today (Friday, April 24). The trial continues.