'Moonwalk' witnesses will not face prosecution
Two witnesses will not face prosecution after a trial collapsed when they made a video of one of them doing a 'moonwalk' dance while waiting to give evidence - but a judge told them they had been 'extremely stupid'.
Luke Walker, aged 26, of Gayfield Avenue, Brierley Hill, who was convicted of killing his girlfriend in Crete in 2010, was on trial with Luke Seeley, 26, of Channon Drive, Brierley Hill but the case was dropped after the video was discovered.
At a hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday Judge John Warner said: "What you two admitted doing was an extremely stupid thing, even though it was in the privacy of the witness room. It was against the law of taking pictures or videos in a court.
"What you did made you liable for prosecution for contempt of court. If the contempt of court had been proved, it normally means the person involved gets locked up.
"What you did was one of the reasons why the case was abandoned by the prosecution.
"However, I have reflected on this and given your ages and that there was nothing sinister about what you did, the matter should not go further."
The video showed Whittle wearing a glove and holding his groin while doing the dance.
After the case had been dropped, Taylor said the film had been made because they were bored.
He said: "I filmed him as he did the Moondance. He was holding his groin and we were both laughing. There were 17 conversations about the film on Facebook.
"I did not know I was not allowed to do it. It was a joke."
The case against Walker and Seeley was dropped as the Crown Prosecution Service said the witnesses' action undermined the case.
Walker is currently on bail after he was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to 20-year-old Chelsea Hyndman, leading to her death in Crete four years ago. He was sentenced to eight years in prison but the sentence was suspended pending the appeal.
