Jury out on alleged killer accused of hiding body from police called to Coventry flat
Jurors at Warwick Crown Court have heard that Reanne Coulson was heard screaming and crying for help by her alleged killer’s neighbour, who called 999
A jury has retired to consider its verdict in the case of a ground worker accused of murdering a woman whose body was found in a shallow grave near a woodland path.
Jurors at Warwick Crown Court have heard that Reanne Coulson was heard screaming and crying for help by her alleged killer’s neighbour, who called 999.
Mohammed Durnion denies murder, claiming Ms Coulson died from an apparent overdose after a brief argument at his flat in Paynes Lane, Coventry, on the night of May 21 last year.
Prosecutors allege the 42-year-old killed Ms Coulson in a sudden and deliberate attack and then feigned a mental health crisis following the arrival of police minutes after the 999 call.
Jurors have heard that officers entered and searched the property but did not find Ms Coulson’s body, which is believed to have been hidden under a mattress.
The body was removed from the flat by Durnion after police had left and was found near a bridleway in Binley Woods more than five weeks later.
Opening the case at the start of the trial, prosecutor Timothy Cray KC said Ms Coulson, a 33-year-old sex worker, disappeared after attending a support group at a Catholic Church.
Summing up the evidence in the case on Thursday, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC reminded jurors of evidence given by Durnion and his co-defendant Adam Moore.
Moore, 39, of Marlcroft, Willenhall, Coventry, denies assisting an offender on May 22 by helping in the disposal of Ms Coulson’s body.
Durnion, the judge said, had told the court he was “off my head” on drugs and not thinking straight when police arrived.
According to Durnion’s account, the court heard, he went into a room to let Ms Coulson know police had arrived, only to find her surrounded by drug paraphernalia, including a needle.
The alleged killer also said he had put Ms Coulson’s body in a suitcase and driven to the woods, dug a hole and then used petrol to set fire to the body to destroy any fibres from his car.
Moore claims to have visited Binley Woods for around 30 minutes to look for Durnion, but said he had no involvement in disposing of the body and did not leave a path near the deposition site.
In her final comments before jurors retired, Judge Montgomery told the panel not to feel under any pressure of time.
She told the jury members: “It may be that some of you have heard of juries returning majority verdicts.
“I am afraid I can’t accept a majority verdict. The only verdict I can accept is a verdict of you all. That is what we call a unanimous verdict, and it is only a unanimous verdict I can accept from you at this stage.”
The jury deliberated for around an hour on Thursday (19 March 2026) and will resume its discussions on Friday (20 March 2026).