Brierley Hill murders: Accused says 'fourth man' killed friends then turned gun on him

Jonathan Houseman told how he almost became the third victim in the car on a Brierley Hill industrial estate but had a miraculous escape before pleading for his life and managing to get away.

During dramatic testimony at Birmingham Crown Court, the accused, 32, described seeing the man, who he said he had never met before, shooting Will Henry and Brian McIntosh from the back seat.

The gun was then turned on Houseman, he told the jury, and pointed at his head. The fourth man pulled the trigger but the gun "clicked" rather than firing a shot, he claimed.

Asked by his barrister Mr Paul Lewis QC what happened next, Houseman told the court: "I said to him 'please don't kill me, I've got children. Please let me go'."

Friends and business partners Mr Henry, 31, and Mr McIntosh, 29, both fathers from Bartley Green, Birmingham, were found dead in the Range Rover at the Albion Works industrial estate on September 30 last year. The prosecution says Houseman, of no fixed address but formerly of Quarry Park Road, Stourbridge, shot them over a £200,000 debt he owed them.

But he insisted it was not him who was responsible for their deaths but the fourth man, who he described as being late 30s to early 40s, with a receding hair line, mousey brown hair and a beard.

He told how the friends arrived at the yard in the Range Rover shortly after 1pm and he was then instructed by Mr McIntosh to get into the car.

When he did, he saw the fourth man was sitting in the back. Houseman told the jury how there was a discussion about a loan which did not go down well with the fourth man, who then produced a gun.

A tearful Houseman told the court: "He pointed the gun at Will and let two shots. He then pointed the gun at Brian and I believed two shots went off but found out it was four."

Asked what happened next, he said: "He pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger at me. It wasn't a bang I heard but different."

He said he thought he was going to die and added: "The first thing I thought about was my kids."

Houseman said while pleading for his life he told the man there were cameras in the yard.

No other man was seen on CCTV and Houseman said this was because he got out of the car and immediately dropped to the ground.

He said: "As I ran off he shouted 'Jon I'm going to kill you and your family, hear me? I'm coming for you and your family if you talk."

Houseman denies murder. Richard Avery, 33, of no fixed address, denies murder and perverting the course of justice. Avery's partner Francesca Scott, 33, of Lower Valley Road, Brierley Hill, denies perverting the course of justice.

The trial continues.