AN East Yorkshire man and his uncle savagely beat a pensioner to death with a crow bar in the victim's own home, a court heard.
Traveller Gary Smith, from Bridlington, and Frankie Parker are accused of murdering 76-year-old Llywelyn Thomas after bursting into his home in Chittering, Cambridgeshire, to steal, jurors were told on the first day of their trial.
Karim Khalin, prosecuting, said the pair used at least one crow bar as well as their fists and feet in the "brutal battering" in Ely Road on December 17, 2011.
He said: "They subjected him to a savage beating. They left him for dead, they left him on his upstairs landing. He did not stand a chance."
He added: "There were no defensive injuries so it seems that Mr Thomas was unable even to try and defend himself from this assault perpetrated by these two men."
The court heard Mr Thomas' injuries included a broken skull and there were signs of "major blunt force trauma to his head and face".
Mr Khalin said the pair stole items including ornamental eggs and watches before driving off in Mr Thomas' Rover car, which had a mechanical fault and could only reach 20mph.
They dumped it in Milton and made it to an acquaintance's house where they asked Gary Smith's father John Smith to be their getaway driver, the court was told.
Parker, 26, of Nene Road, Ely, and Smith, 21, of no fixed address but originally from Bridlington, deny murder. Parker has already admitted robbery, a charge Gary Smith denies.
Both men admit being at the scene, but accuse each other of attacking Mr Thomas.
John Smith, 67, of Wold Gate, Bridlington, North Humberside, is charged with assisting an offender.
John Smith has admitted one count of assisting an offender by providing a false alibi, but denies another of being their getaway driver.
The Cambridge Crown Court trial is set to last four weeks.
