A JURY has been told how a witness heard a “bloodcurdling” scream of distress on the night a man’s body was found in Basingstoke.

David John Henwood, 34, of Edmund Court and Kasey Wayne Rolfe, 37, of no fixed abode, stand trial charged with the murder, and also manslaughter, of 41-year-old Jason Williams.

During the trial at Winchester Crown Court, prosecutor Matthew Jewell plotted out a timeline starting on February 19 from Mr Henwood leaving his first day at a new job with Nationcare Windows, up until the moment of the pair’s arrest.

Mr Jewell told the court that the prosecution believes the incident came from the pairs need to buy Class A drugs, of which they were both addicted to crack cocaine.

The majority of the witness evidence presented by Mr Jewell focused on an alleyway off Margaret Road, South Ham near Russell Howard Park where Mr Williams body was found in the early hours of February 20, with a single stab wound to the chest.

Today (Wednesday, 4 July) the jury heard from Karen Steele.

Miss Steele told the court that she was sat in her flat, when at around 12.15am she heard two screams.

The first she described as a “short, sharp, aggressive shout” the second a “blood curdling scream”.

“It was a distressed noise which indicated that something had happened. It was a very different tone to the first voice I heard.

“I opened the patio door and I heard what sounded like the scuffing of feet.”

Miss Steele added: “I went out of the flat with my dog as I had a feeling something had happened. I just had a feeling from what I heard as it made my hairs stand on end.”

The court heard how Miss Steele stood at the entrance of the alleyway but was too nervous to walk down it.

Upon returning to her flat she described hearing a “one-way conversation” of a man on a phone where he said “I f****ing touched it I don’t know what to do” before running off in the direction of St Nicolas Court.

The trial continues.