A court has heard the cause of death for a Harrogate man who was killed in his own flat.

Paul Tillett, 56, was found bound and gagged on the floor of his flat under a sleeping bag by police on September 29.

Philip Watson, 34, has admitted murdering Mr Tillett at the victim’s home on Strawberry Dale in September 2024.

However, his co-accused, Jason Johnson, 27, has denied encouraging Watson to kill the 56-year-old.

Dr Louise Mulcahy, a Home Office pathologist, gave evidence to a murder trial at Leeds Crown Court on Friday (June 20).

Dr Mulcahy, who carried out a post-mortem on Mr Tillett on September 30 last year, told the court that the victim’s cause of death was a combination of “blunt force head trauma, pressure on the neck and airway obstruction”.

She said Mr Tillett was formally pronounced dead at 11.39pm on September 29, 2024.

Dr Mulcahy told the court that the victim had suffered “multiple blows” to the head as part of a “sustained assault”.

She said the blows to the head, which were caused by punches, kicks and stamps, likely left Mr Tillett in a “concussed state” which would have “impaired his ability to breath”.

Dr Mulcahy said:

The court also heard that Mr Tillett was choked with a ligature and suffocated with a cushion on his head.

Dr Mulcahy confirmed to the court that there were injuries consistent with “ligature strangulation”.

Earlier in the trial, Jamie Hill KC, prosecuting, told the court that it was the prosecution’s case that Watson was the “main offender” and carried out most of the attack.

However, he said Mr Johnson encouraged Watson to murder Mr Tillett. Mr Johnson denies a murder charge.

In a statement during police interview, Mr Johnson accepted he was present at the attack in Mr Tillet’s flat. However, he said “at no point” did he come into physical contact with Mr Tillett and that he considered the victim a friend.

The trial continues.