Man convicted over canalside killing

The killer of Darren Round, whose body was found in a Birmingham canal more than six years ago, has today been convicted of manslaughter.

Investigators have worked tirelessly to bring the case to court, get some answers for Darren's loved ones and bring his killer, Cain Watson, to justice

Darren's body was found on the morning of Saturday, 15 February 2020, near Masshouse Lane in Kings Norton, in the aftermath of one of the UK’s worst storms, Storm Dennis.

The 48-year-old had left home in Kings Norton, where he lived with his mother Sheila, the evening before, with detectives painstakingly piecing together his movements and establishing he was walking back home along the canal towpaths at around 1am.

Tragically his body was found in the water later that morning and nothing could be done to revive him.

Pictured: Darren Round

As part of the investigation, we issued several appeals to the public asking for their help to establish what had happened and Watson's name came to the attention of detectives.

A post mortem examination revealed that Darren had suffered significant facial injuries before he entered the water which are consistent with him being seriously assaulted.

We've never lost sight of this case and after the final pathology report was concluded, the investigation was further reviewed by one of our specialist teams.

Officers remained relentless and on 10 December last year, Watson, aged 34, was arrested at his home in Dornie Drive, Birmingham and later charged over Darren's death.

Watson denied being involved but with meticulous CCTV work, combing through hours of footage, investigators showed that Watson was the only other person to have entered the same stretch of canal at the same time as Darren.

Further forensic scientific work concluded that Watson’s DNA was present on the inside surface of Darren’s left front jacket pocket.

Officers also managed to identify the type of trainers Watson was wearing that night with forensic scientific examination then linking those to an incident at Watson’s mother’s home in Kings Norton on the same night when a neighbour reported Watson kicking in the front door. They were also found to match the impression left by the footwear which had inflicted injuries to Darren’s face.

Darren suffered numerous injuries including fractures to his face, ribs, and neck, indicating that he had been subjected to a serious assault – involving a number of heavy blows to his face and chest.

The cause of his death was established as blunt force trauma and immersion in water.

After a three-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Watson has today been convicted of manslaughter.

Pictured: Cain Watson

Det Insp Ade George, from WMP Homicide unit, said: “We always had this investigation our sights, to give Darren and his family the justice they deserve.

“The hard work has been continuous with one of the crucial pieces of evidence in the case being establishing a forensic link between the person who inflicted Darren’s injuries with the person who kicked in that door in Kings Norton.

“That evidence along with the dogged determination of the team, in placing Watson at the scene with CCTV evidence, has now seen him convicted over Darren’s death.

“We can only hope that this verdict brings some longed-for comfort and closure to his mum, his family, and those who cared about Darren.”