Rhyl man Mark Mason bled to death after knife wounds to heart and major artery

Dad-of-two Mark Mason bled to death after suffering knife wounds to the heart and a major artery.

Giving evidence on the second week of the trial at Mold Crown Court, Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rogers used body charts to detail all the wounds, some of which were defence wounds, as Mr Mason tried to protect himself, he explained.

But the two fatal wounds to the aorta and and artery caused massive bleeding into the abdominal cavity and death would have been very rapid, he said.

The Rhyl man was stabbed while sitting in the passenger seat of a white van in the car park of Home Bargains in Rhyl in October of last year.

One man, Jake Meilia, has admitted the murder – said to have been carried out as part of a drugs turf war – while three others have pleaded not guilty to the killing.

The wounds were consistent with the use of a knife or knives, Dr Rogers said.

He found wounds to the right ear, the back of the head, the chest and abdomen, the right arm and shoulder and to the right hand.

The wound to the aorta was 12cm deep.

“It would not cause instantaneous death but within a matter of minutes. Blood pressure would collapse and within a matter of minutes he would be dead.”

He had bled to death, Dr Rogers added.

The wounds could have been caused by one person with one knife, or more than one person with a similar knife.

Traces of cocaine and cannabis were also found in Mr Mason’s body.

The prosecution say that Mr Mason was killed when a drugs turf war erupted in Rhyl between rival supply gangs.

Paul Lewis, QC, has alleged that Mr Mason, 48, a father of two, and another had tried to attack two of the so-called rival Pensarn drugs crew earlier in the day as they dealt drugs at The Cob, an area of land near The Marine Lake.

They ran into the water to escape two men with balaclavas and a machete.

The jury has heard claims that to seek retribution, two men came from Liverpool and all four followed the van into the car park where the attack took place last October.

Defendants James Davies, 21, of Moscow Drive, Liverpool; Anthony Baines, 31, of Sutcliffe Street, Liverpool, and Mark Ennis, 31, of Bedford Road, Liverpool, deny the murder of Mark Mason and maliciously wounding Justin Trickett and Sam Illidge with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm.

Both Trickett and Illidge ran from the van after being stabbed and refused to make complaints.

A fourth man, Jake Melia, 21, of Eastbourne Road, Liverpool, has admitted all three charges.

The trial has ended for today and the prosecution case will continue tomorrow (thurs).