Man dies in industrial shredder and his body was never found
The company he worked for and another employee have been found guilty of manslaughter
Last updated 6th Dec 2023
A waste company and a yard manager have been found guilty of manslaughter after a labourer was crushed to death inside an industrial shredder in Wolverhampton.
The remains of 29 year old David Willis, were never found after he fell inside a machine designed for shredding wood and commercial waste at Timmins Waste Services (TWS) in September 2018.
TWS and yard manager Brian Timmins, 54, who was operating the diesel-powered machine at the time, have been on trial accused of "systemic failures" which led to Mr Willis's death.
When police attended the yard days later on Monday September 17, CCTV footage showed Mr Willis falling into the shredder, prompting a search of the landfill site in Cannock.
Part of a tabard that may have belonged to him was discovered.
A jury found the waste company guilty of corporate manslaughter and Timmins, of Fair Lawn, Albrighton, guilty of manslaughter after deliberating for more than 10 hours.
When Mr Willis disappeared inside the machine, Timmins was seen on CCTV looking around the yard and inside the shredder's 'hopper', which guides the waste towards the machine's blades, before calling Mr Willis's phone.
He was then seen looking out the yard gates and running around the site, before returning to the digger and continuing to operate the shredder.
Mr Willis, who lived with his mother Caroline, was reported missing by her on the evening of September 15 when he did not return home.
Ms Agnew told the jury that Mrs Willis called Timmins just before 11pm to ask if he had seen her son, but he said words to the effect of: "Not since this morning when he left and walked up the road."
The prosecutor said Timmins' conduct on the day of Mr Willis's death "fell far below what would be expected of a reasonable and competent person in his position and was truly, exceptionally bad".
It was also the prosecution's case that Timmins "knew that Mr Willis had died in the shredder; he knew that some sort of criminal investigation or judicial proceedings were inevitable and he took active steps to interfere with evidence and to conceal the facts of the death".
Sentencing will be arranged at a later date