This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A man has denied murdering a retired lecturer who was shot with a crossbow bolt as he adjusted his satellite dish in Anglesey, north Wales.

Terence Michael Whall, from the village of Bryngwran on the island, pleaded not guilty to murdering Gerald Corrigan. A trial is due to take place in January.

Whall, 39, and three other men from north Wales also denied conspiring to pervert the course of justice by allegedly setting fire to a Land Rover Discovery found burnt out.

The trial is scheduled to begin on 14 January at Mold crown court in north Wales and is expected to last four to five weeks. A pre-trial review will be held in December, either in Cardiff or Mold.

The prosecuting barrister, Michael Jones QC, suggested a site visit would be useful for the jury.

All four defendants were remanded in custody.

Corrigan was injured on 19 April and died in hospital on 11 May. He had worked as a lecturer in photography and video in Lancashire before retiring to Anglesey more than 20 years ago, and took a keen interest in nature.

After the funeral his partner, Marie Bailey, said it was impossible to express her sadness and shock at the alleged murder.

“He was my best friend and my soulmate,” she said. “All the time we have been together I have been proud to walk at his side and he stood beside me, always. His family and friends, colleagues and neighbours are all shocked and horrified.”