Paul Retallick murder trial: Dad disputes police note of 'can’t do time for murder'

A man accused of murdering his daughter’s former partner was allegedly heard saying “I can’t do time for murder” after police found a body, a court heard.

A police officer who attended the scene on Iris Way, Langport, on Sunday, September 16, recorded the comment in his notebook after Paul Retallick, 35, was found dead there.

Michael Frank McGinty, 55, and son Lee Michael McGinty, 25, of Peony Road, deny Mr Retallick’s murder.

Bristol Crown Court heard last week that Michael McGinty denied making the comment when he was interviewed by police two days later, saying the comment was actually about his son.

He told officers: “I was on the couch comforting Heidi and Fiona and I said, ‘Lee is going to do a lot of time for this’. I’ve been going over and over things again because this has stuck in my brain, this is one of the things that’s come back to me. Has this policeman got things round the wrong way?”

The court heard investigating police officer DC Andrew Duncan was desperate to get hold of the officer’s notebook so that the alleged comment could be put to Michael McGinty.

But Adam Vaitilingam, for Michael McGinty, raised doubt over the credibility of the evidence. He suggested that, although the officer said he wrote the comment in his notebook soon after it was said, it was not written until 1am.

He said: “What we know he did write at the time was a detailed analysis of everything that happened from when he arrived to when he left.”

The trial was due to conclude yesterday afternoon.