The trial of Ryan Giggs continues as Manchester Crown Court heard closing statements on day 11, Monday, 22nd of August, 2022, over his accused assaults on Kate Greville.
Ryan Giggs, 48, is accused of assaulting ex Kate Greville, 38, and her younger sister, Emma Greville, 26, on November 1, 2020, with a further charge relating to controlling and coercive behaviour towards Kate Greville between 2017 and November 2020. However, the former Manchester United player denies all charges levelled against him.
The jury, made up of seven women and five men, heard closing statements from both the prosecution and defence, with both summarising their evidences heard in the first 10 days of the trial.
One of the juries, Judge Hilary Manley indicated that they (the jury) must consider the coercive and controlling behavior charge before the two counts of assault.
Speaking first was prosecutor Peter Wright, who reiterated that Giggs has a dual personality “two very different Ryan Giggs”. “The one who is exposed for public consumption and the Ryan Giggs who exists on occasion behind closed doors,” he said.
Wright insisted that the truth has caught up with Ryan Giggs and “it’s time to pay the price”.
Mr. Wright said: “This case is about the abuse of power of a man over another human being. It’s a tale that is as old as the hills.
“It is about a man who thinks, or thought, he could do whatever he liked in respect of his treatment of Kate Greville and that he could get away with it because the sad history of this relationship revealed that his excesses were endured by her, excused and kept private.
“But all that changed on the night of November 1 when the basis upon which he operated disintegrated before his very eyes and the public persona of Ryan Giggs was exposed to public scrutiny.
“When the woman he had controlled or coerced in their lengthy, fractious and volatile relationship had the courage to stand up to him. When later his messages in all their ugly detail were exposed to a wider audience than that was intended and the intended target.”
The Prosecutor, Mr Wright said that Giggs “treated kate as a commodity” and the audio of the 999 call made on the night the alleged assault happened was “a microcosm of the relationship.”
Mr Wright applauded his client, Ms Greville’s willingness “to reveal in all its deeply embarrassing detail what he had said and done to her over in the period of their relationship”.
Afterwards, Mr Wright said: “Scheming, manipulative, devious? Or a previously emotional, brittle and vulnerable woman, previously malleable to this man had reached her breaking point and was now empowered and able to speak out.”
In his closing speech, Mr. Wright maintained that Ryan Giggs is a being of two personalities; one who does good in public and evil behind closed doors.
But in response, the defendant’s lawyer, Mr. Daw claimed that the prosecutor had “cherry-picked” evidence and emphasized that it was up to the prosecution, rather than Giggs, to prove their case. He prayed the jury to be “scrupulously fair” when judging the “deficiencies” in the evidence brought by the prosecutor. “To say probably guilty is a vote for not guilty,” he said. “Probably is not beyond a reasonable doubt.”
About Ryan Giggs’ alleged assault of ex-girlfriend Ms. Greville, who says the former United footballer forcefully headbutted her, Mr. Daw told the court: “Just think about it, using common sense. He is taller than her and physically fit. A ‘major force’ headbutt causes only a little cut to the lip, no contact to the nose, and no contact to the eye socket.
“It is simply utterly incredible that there was a headbutt,” he added “It was something that was created because she did have a cut lip and then she started screaming and shouting that he had headbutted her. You [the jury] will have to consider whether that was simply twisting reality.”
The trial still continues with the jury set to deliberate from today; Tuesday, 23rd of August, 2022, whether Manchester United legend and Britain’s most decorated footballer Ryan Giggs assaulted and used coercive behaviour towards his former girlfriend Kate Greville.
