Popular song writer Matthew Clarke was found dead in his bed with 26 stab wounds and blunt trauma injuries to his head and brain, a prosecutor told a jury this morning.

Rory Field, Director of Public Prosecutions, was addressing the opening of the Supreme Court trial of three men accused of murdering Mr. Clarke on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 9, 2008.

They are Vernon Simons, 23, of North Shore Road, Pembroke, Shannon Tucker, 32, of Middle Road, Southampton, and Kyle Sousa, 18, of Adams Lane, Warwick.

Mr. Field said Mr. Clarke, 31, was found dead on his bed by the mother of his children in his room at the back of his mother’s home in North Shore Road, Pembroke.

An ambulance and Police were called but Mr. Clarke had no pulse and was pronounced dead on arrival at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Field said the victim suffered 26 stab wounds to his throat and chest and deep lacerations to his forehead. He had also suffered at least nine blunt impact injuries to his head and brain. He claimed two weapons were used — a knife and a tubular implement.

Mr. Field told the jury it was the prosecution’s case that the three accused men travelled to Mr. Clarke’s home in Tucker’s truck to attack and kill him.

He claimed at least two men had been involved in delivering the stab wounds and blows to the head.

All three men have pleaded not guilty to murder. Sousa and Simons attempted to plead guilty to a lesser charge of being accessories to the alleged crime after the fact before the trial got underway this morning.

However, those pleas were rejected by Mr. Field and the trial of all three for murder commenced.

It is expected to last up to six weeks.

* See tomorrow’s Royal Gazette for the full story.