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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Accused 'forced to torch bedsit' | Accused 'forced to torch bedsit' |
| (about 18 hours later) | |
| A man accused of murdering two French students in south London has admitted setting their bedsit alight but said it was after his children were threatened. | A man accused of murdering two French students in south London has admitted setting their bedsit alight but said it was after his children were threatened. |
| Nigel Farmer told the Old Bailey the brother of co-defendant Dano Sonnex threatened to harm his children if he did not carry out the arson attack. | Nigel Farmer told the Old Bailey the brother of co-defendant Dano Sonnex threatened to harm his children if he did not carry out the arson attack. |
| Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were stabbed hundreds of times in their New Cross bedsit in June 2008. | Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were stabbed hundreds of times in their New Cross bedsit in June 2008. |
| Mr Farmer and Mr Sonnex deny murder, false imprisonment and arson. | Mr Farmer and Mr Sonnex deny murder, false imprisonment and arson. |
| Past murders | Past murders |
| Mr Sonnex, from Peckham, south London, admits one count of burglary, which his co-defendant denies. | Mr Sonnex, from Peckham, south London, admits one count of burglary, which his co-defendant denies. |
| Father-of-two Mr Farmer, 34, told jurors that Dano Sonnex's brother Bernie Sonnex had in the past admitted killing three other people and getting away with it. | Father-of-two Mr Farmer, 34, told jurors that Dano Sonnex's brother Bernie Sonnex had in the past admitted killing three other people and getting away with it. |
| I threw the jerry can back into the flat and I lit a match and I was engulfed in a fireball Nigel Farmer | I threw the jerry can back into the flat and I lit a match and I was engulfed in a fireball Nigel Farmer |
| "He said to me, 'Have you seen how much blood Dano had on him this morning?'," said Mr Farmer. | "He said to me, 'Have you seen how much blood Dano had on him this morning?'," said Mr Farmer. |
| "He said, 'If you don't do what you're told, tomorrow morning that could be your kids' blood all over him." | "He said, 'If you don't do what you're told, tomorrow morning that could be your kids' blood all over him." |
| "He was obviously scaring me quite a lot. Dano came in and he said he could cut my kids' legs off below the knees." | "He was obviously scaring me quite a lot. Dano came in and he said he could cut my kids' legs off below the knees." |
| The conversation was alleged to have taken place in the hours following the murders. | The conversation was alleged to have taken place in the hours following the murders. |
| Mr Farmer described how he had gone into the bedsit and been caught up in a fireball after sprinkling petrol around and setting fire to it with a match. | Mr Farmer described how he had gone into the bedsit and been caught up in a fireball after sprinkling petrol around and setting fire to it with a match. |
| He said he was only in there for 30 or 40 seconds and had not seen the bodies of the students as the lights were off. | He said he was only in there for 30 or 40 seconds and had not seen the bodies of the students as the lights were off. |
| "I practically ran through it, sprinkling petrol," Farmer said. "I threw the jerry can back into the flat and I lit a match and I was engulfed in a fireball." | "I practically ran through it, sprinkling petrol," Farmer said. "I threw the jerry can back into the flat and I lit a match and I was engulfed in a fireball." |
| 'Crazy-looking' | |
| Earlier, Mr Farmer told the court he had returned to the Sonnex family home in Deptford where he was staying at the time, following a night out with his co-defendant. | |
| He said he was dozing on the sofa when Mr Sonnex came in at about 8.30am covered in what looked like blood. | |
| "He stood in the hallway, he was crazy-looking," Mr Farmer said. | |
| "His trousers had red staining on them and there was staining on his jacket and jacket sleeves. He was wide-eyed and sweaty. | |
| "I asked him what had happened and he shrugged it off and laughed." | |
| Mr Farmer said Sonnex had also tried to burgle the home of EastEnders actress Maureen Bass, who plays Mo Harris in the BBC soap, shortly before the murders. | |
| A friend who disturbed the intruder described how he had climbed on top of the conservatory and when confronted said he wanted "Mo's signature" before fleeing. | |
| The court heard she called police at 0500 BST, half an hour before the killings of Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez. | |
| The trial continues. |