A raging man allegedly beat his own brother to death – then left their mother to find his bloodied and battered body in an armchair, a court has heard.
Darren Steel, 39, from Morriston in Swansea, is accused of brutally battering his elder brother, Martin Steel, in a drunken fit of temper.
He then ran away to leave his brother to die alone in a blood-soaked armchair with injuries that left his face ‘unrecognisable,’ Swansea Crown Court heard today.
He Denied it
Steel has denied taping another man to a chair and beating him, as well as assaulting his former girlfriend, who claims he pursued her with a hammer.
How the Brothers’ Relationship Was Like
Prosecutor Caroline Rees KC set out the case against Steel, describing him as ‘jealous’ of his brother, which led to ‘black moods and anger’.
She called the brothers’ relationship ‘volatile’ and ‘love-hate’, especially when alcohol was involved.
Addressing the jury, Ms Rees said: ‘At an address in Hill View the defendant was in an angry state, he was consumed by rage and brutally attacked his brother.
‘The defendant did nothing to try to save him. Did nothing to call an ambulance.’
How Martin Was Found
She said Martin was left in a blood-soaked armchair until his mother found him on May 20 2023.
Diane Steel came to the house after neighbours raised the alarm.
They had grown concerned having found Martin’s dog covered in a ‘reddish brown’ substance and getting no response at the house.
Diane initially spoke to someone she could only identify as one of her sons through the door.
The prosecution argued that the older brother would have been dead by this time, meaning it must have been Darren she spoke to.
The voice asked if she had brought the police with her and she asked why she would do that.
When she got into the property she found her son Martin, his face swollen, with blood splatter covering the room.
Diane found the ‘lifeless, bloodied, and heavily injured’ of her son slumped in a chair in his house.
What Mom Said
She recalled Martin’s swollen face was ‘unrecognisable’, his lips were ‘huge and puffy’, his hands cut and swollen, his mouth was full of blood and his body was ‘cold’ as she tried to find a pulse.
The mother said then Steel came into the room, laughing and claiming he was ‘still p***** from the night before’.
Ms Rees said: ‘The defendant made his escape from the scene, leaving his mother to deal with the most horrific scene imaginable.’
