A PENSIONER died after being shoved to the ground by his stepson in a row over his late wife’s £5million estate, a court heard.
Dr Jason Waite, 54, allegedly “hated” 87-year-old Peter Skilton due to the ongoing inheritance battle over his mum Eileen Skilton’s fortune.
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She had left a cottage in the Lincolnshire village of Snitterby to Peter following her death in 2018 at the age of 74.
Lincoln Crown Court heard the home, which Peter had rented out, would then pass to Waite after his stepdad died.
On December 17, Waite showed up at the cottage when Anthony and Pamela Tootell were moving in.
He began removing the couple’s furniture – causing them to call Peter, who was just a minute away.
When he arrived at the scene, jurors heard Waite grabbed his elderly stepdad by his jacket and pushed him back along the gravel drive towards a concrete area.
Pavlos Panayi KC, prosecuting, said the pair could be heard arguing before Waite “threw” Peter to the ground.
He added: “Unsurprisingly when Peter Skilton’s head struck the ground he received a serious injury.
“Peter Skilton was immediately knocked out cold.”
“The brain began to swell and when an air ambulance arrived paramedics placed him in an induced coma.”
Jurors heard Waite sat calmly on one of the chairs he removed from the cottage as medics battled to save his stepdad.
Peter was airlifted to hospital in Hull where he was declared dead just before 6pm on December 19.
A post mortem found he died from brain injuries consistent with hitting his head on the ground.
The pathologist explained it was a severe brain injury that would have killed a fitter, younger man.
Jurors were told Peter, who had two daughters from his first marriage, wed “wealthy” Elaine following an affair.
There was “no dispute” he was left Ivy House cottage but he and Waite had been locked in the long-running legal battle, it was said.
Mr Panayi said: “These two individuals spent six years arguing over probate, quarrelling over who was entitled to what from Eileen Skilton’s estate.”
Waite denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.
The trial continues.
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