A MAN accused of murdering a Good Samaritan who took him into his home is linked to the killing by ‘overwhelming’ forensic evidence, a jury has been told.
Stuart Hodgkin allegedly killed vulnerable adult Adrian Munday after taking over his life, moving into his home in Newton Abbot, and spending all his money.
He tried to cover up the murder by lighting a fire over the body at Adrian’s home in Newton Abbot on the night of October 4 last year, Exeter Crown Court was told.
Hodgkin denies murdering 51-year-old Adrian and says he left him alive and well when he left his home and travelled back to Basingstoke.
The prosecution say Hodgkin exploited the vulnerability of Mr Munday, who suffered from a brain injury and schizophrenia, after meeting him by chance two-and-a-half weeks before he died.
He is alleged to have emptied Adrian’s bank account and beaten him to death in a rage when he was unable to get any more cash to spend on drink and drugs.
Hodgkin, who comes from Basingstoke and was arrested in Winchester, was penniless and living rough in a tent near Newton Abbot racecourse when he met Adrian by chance on a train.
Hodgkins, aged 40, whose family home is at Basingstoke and whose address was at Stockbridge Road, Winchester, denies murder.
Mr Simon Laws, QC, prosecuting, completed his opening of the case by telling the jury there was overwhelming forensic evidence that Hodgkin beat, kicked and stamped Adrian to death before starting the fire and fleeing the area at around 12.40am.
A neighbour heard a smoke alarm at 3am and the body was found by a handyman who went to the house in Wain Lane, Newton Abbot, two days later.
Fire investigators found that a duvet and other material had been piled on the body on the lounge floor and then set alight with the contents of two cans of Zippo lighter fluid.
Mr Laws said Hodgkin’s fingerprint was found on one can and his DNA on a knife which was used to puncture the other.
Adrian’s blood was found on one of Hodgkin’s trainers which was found upstairs in the house. Hodgkin’s palm print was found traced in Adrian’s blood on an estate agent’s leaflet which was found partially burned near the fire.
A heavily bloodstained copy of a local newspaper was found in the rubbish bin.
Adrian died as a result of head and chest injuries including 20 cracked ribs, which would have compressed his upper body and made it impossible for him to breath.
There was no smoke or soot in his lungs, meaning he was definitely dead at the time the fire was lit. The cause of death was blunt force trauma.
Mr Laws said Hodgkin let the truth about the killing slip out after he fled to Basingstoke, where he was staying with his mother.
She warned him the police may be looking for him in relation to an unconnected theft in Hampshire and he mistakenly believed she was referring to what he had done in Devon.
Mr Laws said Hodgkin replied: ‘I didn’t do it, I haven’t killed anyone’, even though the body had only just been discovered and the police had not even started a murder inquiry.
Mr Laws said: ‘This defendant acted exactly like a man on the run but he cannot run away from the forensic findings such as the blood on his trainers and inside the house.
‘Perhaps he hoped the fire would solve that problem and get rid of all the evidence. He is also linked to the very materials used to start the fire.
‘If you put all the different elements of the case together, it is very clear who killed Adrian Munday. The extent of the injuries shows he intended to cause very serious bodily harm at the very least.
‘There is no requirement for us to show pre-meditation or planning. It is much more likely this was a spontaneous killing. The defendant became very angry and that anger turned to violence.’
The trial continues and is expected to last just over two weeks.