Man allegedly beaten and starved to death by a couple resembled a 'bag of bones' in days before his death, father tells court

By ANDY DOLAN AND MARTIN FRICKER Published: 17:51, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 17:54, 17 June 2026 The father of a vulnerable man allegedly beaten and starved to death by a couple told a court today how he resembled a 'bag of bones' in the days before his death. Rubin Blount, 28, was sent to live with Melanie James, 63, and her partner Kenneth Newton, 57, by social workers, jurors heard. But prosecutor Jennifer Josephs KC said the 'recovering drug addicts' kept him in their council house 'for their own financial benefit' and abused him 'for their own fun and kicks'. Rubin, who had a low IQ and learning disabilities, spent the first 20 years of his life living with his parents Eric and Jeanette Blount, the court heard.  But in 2015 'following some concerns, the authorities decided that it wasn't appropriate for him to live at home any more', the prosecutor said. The court heard James turned up at Mr and Mrs Blount's home out of the blue on November 26, 2022, and told Jeanette he was not well. The couple went to see him and were so shocked by what they saw, they drove him to hospital, jurors were told. Giving evidence behind a screen, Mr Blount said: 'I went upstairs into the back bedroom where Rubin was lying on the bed. Rubin Blount 'looked like a bag of bones', his father told jurors, after Melanie James had called at his home to say his son was unwell Police outside the address in Tamworth, Staffordshire, in November 2022 'He was lying on his side. He didn't speak. He was unconscious. He looked like a bag of bones. 'When I touched his clothes they were soaked in urine and so was the bed, and there was a pile of urine-soaked clothes on the floor 'When I asked why they were there, Mel said the urine ruined the washing machine. 'We had to clean him up. He was soaked in urine and had excrement stuck to his backside. 'I picked him up, carried him down the stairs and we drove him to Good Hope Hospital.' Mr Blount said Newton remained in his bedroom 'crying his eyes out, saying 'we're going to get the blame for this'.' He added: 'I believe they wanted him round at theirs for the money. 'Rubin was always thin, but not like he was that day. 'He could eat and eat and eat but not put weight on. 'But that night when we went round there he was like a bag of bones.' Newton and James are accused of murdering Rubin at the property in Tamworth, Staffordshire. Stafford Crown Court was told the couple forced him to stand and filmed themselves mocking and threatening him. Jurors were told they 'treated their dog with more kindness and care' than the man they were supposed to be caring for. When Mr Blount died he weighed just seven stones and had suffered multiple rib fractures, a fractured spine and cigarette burns, it is claimed. Earlier today, his mother told the court how she found her son 'sitting there looking out of space' when she visited following James' appearance on her doorstep.  She then alerted her husband who then joined her at Newton and James' address.  Mrs Blount said Rubin's eyes were open but he was 'just staring' and 'didn't respond' when she spoke to him. Mrs Blount told jurors: 'He was pale, rough and unresponsive. 'The room was cold. There was a smell of urine.' Asked if she had expected Rubin to look like that, she replied: 'No.' Opening the case on Tuesday, Ms Josephs said Newton was a 'sort of step-brother' to the victim, having been raised by Mr Blount's father. The court heard that James managed his finances and bank card, controlling the £1,100 in monthly benefits that was paid into his account. 'These defendants did not care for Rubin,' added Ms Josephs. 'They starved him and beat him and did nothing to help him. 'He was someone to be belittled, mocked, assaulted and kept there for their own financial benefit.  They didn't just neglect and mistreat him...they viciously assaulted him.' Mr Blount, who had a BMI of 16, suffered a cardiac arrest in the accident and emergency department of the hospital in Sutton Coldfield, where medics discovered he was suffering from pneumonia and had multiple rib fractures, kidney and liver dysfunction and heart damage. He died four days later, with the cause of death recorded as septic shock, due to pneumonia and damage to the lung. James and Newton, both of Handsworth, Birmingham, deny murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter. They also deny alternative charges of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult between November 1 and 27, 2022. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.