Killers face jail after stripping dad naked and beating him to death at industrial estate
A trio of killers are facing jail after being found guilty of killing a dad-of-five, who was stripped naked and savagely beaten to death in a "senseless attack".
Carl Woodall, 44, suffered 141 injuries before his body was discovered in a unit on an industrial estate in Rowley Regis, West Mids.
Mark Campbell, Simmion Goldbourne and James McGhee used a machete, a large knife and a wooden handle to hack and thrash the victim to death.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Mr Woodall was wearing just one sock at the time he was found dead by his son and girlfriend on 28 June last year.
Jurors heard that he ultimately died from a traumatic brain injury but defensive bruises and cuts on his arms suggested he was conscious for much of the attack.
Police tracked down his killers, who are all from Nottingham, using CCTV and piecing together the links Mr Woodall had to the men.
Detectives discovered Campbell met Mr Woodhall’s stepsons in prison in 2018 and made contact with one of them in June 2021.
Officers say he spent time in a hotel in Halesowen, West Midlands., and visited the Doulton Trading Estate near the murder scene.
It is thought he had a dispute with Mr Woodhall’s stepsons and left the area before returning with McGhee and Goldbourne days later.
The court heard Mr Woodall had moved into a static caravan in a unit he rented at the industrial estate after separating from his ex-partner.
CCTV footage captured a silver Nissan Qashqai driven along Doulton Road by McGhee with passengers Goldbourne and Campbell inside at 1.15am.
Minutes later, Goldbourne and Campbell were seen looking around the premises before they returned to the car.
All three men then headed in the direction of Mr Woodall's caravan before Goldbourne and Campbell scaled a metal fence and entered the yard at the industrial unit.
The pair then emerged at around 4.13am, with Goldbourne carrying a box and Campbell a bag, before McGhee drove them away seconds later.
His body was discovered the next day and police were called.
Forensic analysis of the unit showed that an untidy search had been made and a bloodstained knife and machete were found.
CCTV showed McGhee dropping Campbell at his girlfriend’s flat in Nottingham at around 8.30pm on 27 June.
McGhee was later seen with a large amount of cash when he re-fuelled his car and bought snacks at a local garage.
He took a large blood-stained crowbar back home with him which police later found in his garden.
When the car was seized, Mr Woodhall’s blood stains were found in the front passenger and rear seat.
Goldbourne was also caught on CCTV dumping a bag containing the clothes he wore on the night of the killing, in a skip.
After Wednesday’s verdict, Detective Inspector Hannah Whitehouse, of West Midlands Police, said: “We do not fully understand why Carl was killed but his death was senseless and the level violence used against him is deplorable.
“Carl was a quiet and well-liked man, he had five children, three of which are very young.
“He did nothing to deserve what happened to him on that dreadful day.”
Campbell, 39, and Goldbourne, 28, were found guilty of murder while McGhee, 28, was convicted of manslaughter at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
The gang will be sentenced on Friday.
