A dog walker named Nigel Wilson was found badly injured after being stabbed multiple times. His puppy, Jade, returned home alone and alerted Wilson’s loved ones, leading them to discover him. This happened on November 14, 2022, and the accused, Bailey Messervy, was 18 at the time. Wilson, 62, died in the hospital eight days later. Now 20, Messervy is on trial, pleading not guilty to murder but admitting to manslaughter.
On that morning, Wilson was walking his puppy in Bexley Reserve. He saw Messervy driving fast in his car and yelled for him to slow down. After closing the reserve gates, Messervy and his friend returned. His friend got out of the car to apologize to Wilson. Suddenly, Messervy got out with a knife and told Wilson to open the gates.
A fight occurred, during which Messervy stabbed Wilson eight times, mostly in the abdomen. Wilson tried to escape but fell to his knees, saying, “I’m done.” Messervy left Wilson on the ground, got back in the car, but then returned to push him down and insult him before driving away with his friend.
Messervy went home, took a shower, and went to work. His friend tried to destroy evidence by burning the knife and clothes, and she took Wilson’s cellphone to hide it.
Meanwhile, Wilson’s partner woke up when Jade barked outside. Concerned, she and her son searched for Wilson and found him hurt at Bexley Reserve. He was able to say “ambulance” when she arrived. As their son got there, Wilson whispered, “It hurts.” Emergency services took him to the hospital, but, despite several surgeries, he died days later after life support was removed.
Messervy’s lawyer, James Rapley, said his client knows he caused Wilson’s death, calling it shocking and senseless. However, he argues that Messervy did not intend to kill Wilson and should be charged with manslaughter, not murder. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
