THE mother of a man who is on trial for murdering a Good Samaritan has told a jury he denied carrying out the killing even before he was identified as a suspect.

Stuart Hodgkin’s mother Anna told him to leave her home because she believed police were looking for him in relation to a completely different crime.

She told Exeter Crown Court that before he knew what she was talking about he replied: ‘I did not do it, I did not do it, I did not kill anyone.’

Homeless drifter Hodgkin is on trial accused of killing vulnerable adult Adrian Munday at his home in Wain Lane, Newton Abbot, last October.

The prosecution say Hodgkin took advantage of a chance meeting with 51-year-old Mr Munday, who had learning difficulties, after they met two weeks before the killing.

The jury have been told Hodgkin took over Mr Munday’s life, moved into his home, and spent all the money in his bank account on drink and drugs before kicking and beating him to death when the cash ran out.

The prosecution say Hodgkin lit a fire on top of the body to try to cover up the killing and then fled back to Hampshire in the middle of the night.

Hodgkin, aged 40, whose family home is at Basingstoke and whose address was at Stockbridge Road, Winchester, denies murder.

He says he left Adrian alive and well and someone must have killed him in the three hours between him leaving the house in Wain Lane and the fire being detected.

His mother Anna Hodgkin said he visited her on the afternoon after he left Devon but she turned him away when he returned two days later. In the meantime she had learnt that police were investigating the theft of £240 from confused pensioner John Carr the previous day.

Mrs Hodgkin told the court: ‘As soon as I saw Stuart I asked him what he was doing here and said he had better go because the police would be after him because of what he did to the old man down the road.

‘I was talking about what had happened with Mr Carr in Basingstoke. He replied: “I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill anyone.”

‘I did not know anything about a murder until the police came round several days later. They said they wanted to talk to Stuart about a murder.

‘I went into total shock. I could not believe it. Nothing would come out. I felt terrible. I could not control myself.’

She said she was so shocked she did not tell the police about the conversation but contacted them later and made a further statement.

The trial continues.