James Prout is dragged to a property by Anne Corbett and Kay Rayworth just days before his death. Photo / Northumbria Police
James Prout is dragged to a property by Anne Corbett and Kay Rayworth just days before his death. Photo / Northumbria Police
Shocking CCTV shows a vulnerable man's horrific deterioration over months of abuse as the killers, who made him eat his own testicle, are jailed for life.
Jimmy Prout, 45, thought the gang were his friends but they turned on him and eventually dumped his lifeless body on wasteland just 100 metres from his home.
Ann Corbett, 26, and Zahid Zaman, 43, were convicted of murder, having previously admitted perverting the course of justice.
Myra Wood, 50, and Kay Rayworth, 56, were cleared of murder but convicted of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult, having also admitted perverting the course of justice.
A jury at Newcastle Crown Court heard that the group of five from North Tyneside had a strange relationship which had developed an almost 'cultish dimension'.
CCTV footage shows him being dragged in and out of the killers' property and exposes the way in which he deteriorated at the hands of his abusers.
Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Jimmy's heartbroken brother Edward, known as Eddy, described Zaman as 'worse than evil' for the sickening abuse inflicted on the North Shields dad.
Mr Prout said: "There are no words to describe him [Zaman]. Honestly, evil isn't worse enough. Evil is too good for him, animal is too good for him."
Mr Prout sat through more than six weeks of a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, listening to evidence of abuse that prosecutors said belonged in the "Dark Ages".
"There is no word to describe it," he said. "I would like them to suffer the way all the family have suffered.
"I would like to thank the judge and the jury and everybody involved in the case for the work they have done and the hours they have put in on behalf of the family."
When asked how the past year had been for Jimmy's friends and family, Mr Prout added: "Horrendous, for all of us, not just myself, for all the family."
Mr Prout said he was pleased with the sentences handed out to Zaman, Corbett, Rayworth and Wood and hoped his relatives could now relax and grieve properly, the Daily Mail reported.
Mr Justice Dove said Zaman, who he branded an 'evil, vindictive man' must serve a minimum of 33 years before he can apply for parole and Corbett must serve 27.
Rayworth and Wood were convicted of causing or allowing Mr Prout's death but cleared of his murder.
Rayworth was sentenced to 12 years and four months behind bars. Wood was sentenced to nine years.
All four had previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
The judge said: "No reasonable person could learn what happened to Jimmy Prout in the months leading up to his death and not feel shocked and appalled that anyone could be treated with such vicious cruelty and inhumanity.
"What he suffered before he died is beyond imagining. Anyone who treated an animal in the way Jimmy was treated would, rightly, be regarded with disgust and contempt."
James Prout is dragged to a property by Anne Corbett and Kay Rayworth just days before his death. Photo / Northumbria Police
He added: "I have no doubt the beatings and mistreatment were repeated day after day, week after week, month after month left Jimmy Prout living in constant fear of the unremitting bullying and assaults he received."
The judge said Mr Prout's injuries were "disgusting, vile and designed to insult and humiliate him".
They were told that a series of events in late 2015 created tensions that led to a number of serious assaults against Mr Prout, which included him having his teeth knocked out with a hammer and chisel - as well as being forced to have sex with Zaman's dog.
Paul Greaney QC, prosecuting, said: 'In effect, over a period of time, Jimmy Prout was not just mistreated, he was tortured.
"In the end, this conduct was to cause the death of Jimmy Prout."
He added: "Awfully, on one occasion, Jimmy Prout's scrotum was sliced open and his testicle was removed; he was then forced to eat it."
Pictured just a few days before his death, James Prout is seen being dragged to a property and then later captured collapsing on the street. Photo / Northumbria Police
Mr Greaney said Mr Prout died on February 9 2016 and his body was dumped on wasteland where it began to decompose and was partly eaten by animals.
The group then allegedly set about covering their tracks as well as fleecing his bank account, asking people if they had seen Mr Prout as they pretended to look for him.
Zaman, who uses a wheelchair and was the leader of the group, was described as vengeful and controlling and was determined to get his own back after he thought Mr Prout had been involved in a theft against him.
The jury were shown CCTV images, often taken from cameras Zaman had on his house, of the worsening condition of Mr Prout as the assaults continued.
Footage from October 18 2015 shows him walking and jogging. But the next clip, from February 5 2016, showed him staggering along, being pushed by Corbett, before slumping on a fence.
Lastly the jury saw footage from 9.47pm on February 6 2016 in which all four defendants are seen with Mr Prout. He was in a "dreadful condition", supported by Corbett and Rayworth, as they walked him to number 75.
That was the last time he was seen on any footage and it is alleged he remained there until his death on February 9.
Mr Prout was also posting pictures of his injuries on his own Facebook account at the time, with words such as "My bodie hurt" and "My sholder hurts".
Following the seven-week trial, Mr Justice Dove said sentencing would take place on June 27.
One of the officers involved in investigating the murder of Jimmy Prout said it was 'one of the worst of his career'.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fairlamb, from Northumbria Police, said it was hard to imagine that such vile assaults could take place in 2016.
"Jimmy Prout died on February 9, we believe, and was then taken to a copse and dumped by these four individuals who have all pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice," he said.
"Prior to his death, he was subjected to a number of serious assaults of a vile, degrading nature, which resulted in his health, both physical and emotional, deteriorating in the last weeks of his life, and to his death.
"The QC presenting the prosecution described the circumstances under which Jimmy died as from the Dark Ages, which you cannot imagine in 2016.
"Jimmy had some of his teeth removed with a chisel and a hammer, he had a testicle removed by having his scrotum opened up with a Stanley knife blade, severed, and then he was made to eat it.
"He was hit over the head with a Jack Daniel's bottle."
He said Zahid Zaman co-ordinated what the group did and had exerted a "controlling influence" over the three women who made up the gang.
"Before the end of 2015 Jimmy would have be a normal guy going about his normal day-to-day business but the evidence from CCTV, mostly captured from Zaman's house, is that Jimmy's health deteriorated greatly," said Mr Fairlamb.
