Johnny William Walters stands trial in Supreme Court accused of bashing John McLellan to death

A frail man with emphysema was beaten to death over three hours by a man on a booze and methamphetamine who then tried to clean the blood with a quilt and disinfectant, prosecutors allege.

A frail man, who relied on a walking stick and had emphysema, was beaten to death over three hours because he confronted a man who drank from his bottle of scotch, a court has heard.

Johnny William Walters is standing trial in the Supreme Court charged with the murder of John McLellan, also known as Jock, on the evening of May 23, 2020.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Patrick Hill said Mr McLellan died from blunt-force injuries.

“We allege he suffered at least 30 to 40 blows to the head and body in the course of the beating,” Mr Hill said.

Justice Laura Stein, who is hearing the trial without a jury, was told that Mr McLellan, 63, had alcohol, cannabis and heroin in his system when he died.

Mr Walters had methamphetamine in his system and, on the prosecution case, had been taking drugs and drinking alcohol for three days before Mr McLellan’s death.

Mark Norman QC, for Mr Walters, said there was no doubt Mr McLellan had died a violent death but that there were many factors in play, including whether self-defence was involved and whether his client had shown the required intention to kill in order to prove murder.

The court heard Mr McLellan died at a unit in a troubled Gilberton housing estate, which was known for drug use and violence.

Security camera footage from a taxi showed Mr McLellan and Mr Walters riding to the city together the morning of the incident.

They travelled back to the units separately after Mr Walters was refused entry on a bus because he had an open container of alcohol.

Mr McLellan purchased a bottle of scotch on the way home and went to one of the units to start drinking.

Crime scene photos from the murder trial of John McLellan. Johnny William Walters is accused of murdering Mr McLellan. Picture: Supreme Court.

Mark Anthony Sullivan, a witness to the attack, told the court he had run into Mr Walters about 4.30pm on his way to the unit and they had gone there together.

“When we first walked in (Mr Walters) made a beeline for the bottle of scotch on the table, picked it up and had a swig out of it,” Mr Sullivan said.

“He took it down to about halfway so it was a pretty big swig.

“Jock came out of the spare room, grabbed the bottle from Mr Walters and put it back on the table.

“He said ‘That’s mine, you shouldn’t be drinking from that’.”

Security camera images of Johnny William Walters who is standing trial for the murder of John McLellan.

Mr Sullivan said Mr Walters got up and punched the victim six or seven times “very, very quickly”. However, Mr McLellan kept talking, despite the punches.

Mr Hill said in his opening that it was possible the heroin in Mr McLellan’s system might have dulled the pain of the assault.

“The heroin must have dulled the pain of the blows causing him to talk back when he was in no position to fight back,” he said.

Taxi image of John McLellan (back seat) and Johnny William Walters (front seat). Mr Walters is accused of beating Mr McLellan to death less than 12 hours after this photo was taken. Picture: Supreme Court.

Crime scene photos from the murder trial of John McLellan. Johnny William Walters is accused of murdering Mr McLellan. Picture: Supreme Court.

Mr Sullivan said the victim tried to crawl under a table but was dragged back by the ankles and the beating continued.

“One of the kicks would have gone 40m if it was a football,” Mr Sullivan said.

“I was a chicken and I’m sorry for that, if I hadn’t been my friend might still be alive.”

Mr Sullivan left the unit after several hours. Prosecutors allege Mr Walters tried to clean up the blood left from the beating but ultimately gave up. He was arrested several days later.

Justice Stein will hand down her verdict at a date to be set.