Philip Long: Trial hears couple celebrated wedding anniversary before husband died in Wrexham street

Philip Long, 36, of Marchwiel, had organised a surprise meal for his wife Hayley and their friends to celebrate their upcoming second wedding anniversary.

They dined at the Fat Boar in Wrexham with three other couples on Saturday, August 3, 2019, and despite the evening being described as “pleasant” and “uneventful” just hours later, Mr Jones was on the receiving end of a blow that caused him to die as a result of his injuries just a couple of days later.

Mrs Long told Mold Crown Court how she heard “a thud” as his head hit the concrete and how he had simply fallen backwards, down the sloping College Street, without being able to put his arms out to break his fall.

The couple, who had two children each from previous relationships had been together for nine years, and were due to celebrate their second wedding anniversary on August 6.

Mrs Long told the court how she would often tease her husband about the fact he didn’t do anything for her, but how he had in fact always been the type to plan surprises. She went on to say that she had suspected he had planned something as she had noticed a deposit being paid for the Fat Boar on their shared credit card.

Mrs Long said how her father had dropped them off in the town centre shortly before 7pm and that once inside, she had been genuinely surprised to find three others couples were already in the restaurant and how a bottle of pink Champagne had been ordered to mark the occasion.

Mrs Long said how she had never drank Champagne before and her husband, not liking the taste of it, had poured the contents of his own glass into hers after the group had raised a toast to them.

Mrs Long said how one of her friends who wasn’t drinking because she had been pregnant had agreed to take the empty bottle home with her, so that the couple could keep it as a momento to mark the occasion.

Prosecuting barrister John Philpotts, told the court how the other friends had then left the restaurant to go to several town centre bars for further drinks, before Mr and Mrs Long said their goodbyes to the last remaining couple at around 1.30am.

In CCTV footage shown to the court, Mr Long and his wife could be seen strolling down College Street, arm in arm, until the disappeared out of view at 1.36am, with Mr Long unknowingly having just “two minutes more to live”.

During those fateful two minutes, it is alleged that Matthew Curtis, 18, of Gwersyllt, punched Mr Long to the left eye with such force it caused him to fall backwards, where he hit his head on a sloping concrete floor.

The incident, which was not captured on CCTV, is alleged to have taken place after Mr Long had witnessed a female punching another male, both of whom were part of a larger group that included Curtis.

It is alleged that he told the girl that what she was doing was “not okay” and during his efforts to resolve the dispute, he was punched by Curtis.

Mr Long was not able to get back up after hitting his head, with the court hearing how his wife heard him “gasping for breath” before she screamed after seeing blood coming from his eye.

At 1.37am, Curtis is seen reappearing on the CCTV running down College Street, where he alerted Jacob Wise, a member of security door staff working at nearby bar The Parish.

When Mr Wise walked towards Mr Long and placed him into the recovery position, he said he heard something saying either “I think I’ve killed him” or “We think we’ve killed him”.

Members of the Red Cross, working in the town centre at the time, heard about the incident via their radio and made their way to the scene, where they attempted to treat Mr Long.

Mrs Long told the court how she could see blood coming from her husband eye and how he had been “gasping” for breath. She then said how she lifted his head and cupped it in her hand, before she started to scream hysterically for someone to call an ambulance.

Defending barrister Nicholas Williams, asked Mrs Long if she could recall her husband telling the group “you can’t let a girl hit a lad like that” or if he had fronted up to another male before pushing him to the ground.

She told the court that did not happen and that “it had all happened so quickly” and that the punch had “come from nowhere”. She added how all’s the couple had done was to try and stop a fight between the young people.

She denied telling her husband to “just leave it and walk on by”.

Mr Philpotts went on to explain how Curtis had spoken to a police officer at the scene told him that he saw “someone else” punch Mr Long and later on, while at the town centre police station, told a Detective how there had been “a kerfuffle” and that Mr Long had been punched and fell sideways, hitting his head on the floor.

However, Mr Philpotts went on to say how Curtis admitted punching Mr Long after being arrested on suspicion of assault and questioned under caution on the Sunday afternoon.

He told officers how Mr Long had pushed one of his friends into some railings with “all out force” and fearing he was about to attack him further punched him with his left hand.

Just days later, Curtis was questioned again, but this time, it was on suspicion of murder after Mr Long had died of his injuries in the early hours of August 5.

The jury were told how Mr Long had been firstly conveyed by Ambulance to Wrexham Maelor Hospital, where a CT scan showed a severe bleed on the brain.

After being transferred to Royal Stoke University Hospital and being seen by a brain surgeon, Mr Long was described as being “unresponsive”. Mr Philpotts said that “everything that could be done was done” it but that Mr Long’s injuries were too severe for surgical intervention and he died in the early hours of August 6.

Mr Philpotts said: “There was no lawful justification for Mr Curtis to throw the punch that had such tragic circumstances.

“He didn’t need to punch him with such force he knocked Mr Long to the ground and he knew that. That is why he lied to police, not once, but twice.”

The trial continues