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| Man accused of murdering vicar admits burglary, court told | Man accused of murdering vicar admits burglary, court told |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man accused of murdering a vicar and a retired teacher admitted carrying out a burglary in which a note threatening to "kill Christian scum" was pinned to the table with knives, a court has heard. | A man accused of murdering a vicar and a retired teacher admitted carrying out a burglary in which a note threatening to "kill Christian scum" was pinned to the table with knives, a court has heard. |
| Stephen Farrow, 48, admits the manslaughter of the Rev John Suddards but denies murdering the clergyman between 12 and 15 February this year on the grounds of diminished responsibility. | Stephen Farrow, 48, admits the manslaughter of the Rev John Suddards but denies murdering the clergyman between 12 and 15 February this year on the grounds of diminished responsibility. |
| He also denies the murder of Betty Yates between 1 and 5 January this year. | He also denies the murder of Betty Yates between 1 and 5 January this year. |
| Suddards, 59, was found stabbed to death at his home in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, on 14 February, while Yates, 77, was stabbed at her cottage in Bewdley, Worcestershire, on 2 January. | |
| Opening the case at Bristol crown court, prosecutor Michael Fitton QC told the jury of eight men and four women that Farrow, of no fixed address, admitted a separate charge of burgling Vine Cottage in Thornbury between 21 December last year and 3 January this year. | |
| Fitton said the three charges span a period of eight weeks and that there were distinct links between them. He said the burglary was the first offence in the sequence. | |
| The jury members were shown a map of Thornbury village which illustrated the proximity of the vicarage, where Suddards's body was found, to Vine Cottage, from which cash, jewellery and a radio were stolen in the burglary. | The jury members were shown a map of Thornbury village which illustrated the proximity of the vicarage, where Suddards's body was found, to Vine Cottage, from which cash, jewellery and a radio were stolen in the burglary. |
| Fitton said a note was found on the kitchen table following the burglary that read: "Be thankful you didn't come back or we will have killed you, Christian scum. I fucking hate God." | Fitton said a note was found on the kitchen table following the burglary that read: "Be thankful you didn't come back or we will have killed you, Christian scum. I fucking hate God." |
| The prosecutor said: "There are two charges for you to decide upon. They relate to different individuals and different places." | |
| He said the first was the murder of Betty Yates, a widow who lived alone next to the river Severn. He said she was last seen alive on Monday 2 January. | He said the first was the murder of Betty Yates, a widow who lived alone next to the river Severn. He said she was last seen alive on Monday 2 January. |
| "The defendant has pleaded not guilty to that count. He denies killing her. He denies any responsibility for her death at all," Fitton said. | "The defendant has pleaded not guilty to that count. He denies killing her. He denies any responsibility for her death at all," Fitton said. |
| "His case is that he was not at her house or in the area she lived on the day she died. | "His case is that he was not at her house or in the area she lived on the day she died. |
| "Our case is that he was there and that he killed her and that he intended to kill her." | "Our case is that he was there and that he killed her and that he intended to kill her." |
| Fitton added: "Count two is the murder of Reverend John Suddards. | Fitton added: "Count two is the murder of Reverend John Suddards. |
| "The defendant pleaded not guilty to that charge, but there is a significant difference in his case. | "The defendant pleaded not guilty to that charge, but there is a significant difference in his case. |
| "Stephen Farrow admits he killed the Reverend John Suddards. What he denies is the charge of murder; he will only admit a charge of manslaughter." | "Stephen Farrow admits he killed the Reverend John Suddards. What he denies is the charge of murder; he will only admit a charge of manslaughter." |
| Fitton said Farrow was claiming a partial defence arising from his mental condition. | Fitton said Farrow was claiming a partial defence arising from his mental condition. |
| "He claims the defence of diminished responsibility. The prosecution recognise and accept the defendant has a relevant mental condition, a mental disorder, I will call it, but we do not accept that his mental disorder diminishes his responsibility for what he did to entitle him to that defence." | "He claims the defence of diminished responsibility. The prosecution recognise and accept the defendant has a relevant mental condition, a mental disorder, I will call it, but we do not accept that his mental disorder diminishes his responsibility for what he did to entitle him to that defence." |
| Farrow was arrested in Folkestone, Kent, in February after a tip-off from the public following a nationwide manhunt launched by Avon and Somerset police after Suddards's body was discovered. | Farrow was arrested in Folkestone, Kent, in February after a tip-off from the public following a nationwide manhunt launched by Avon and Somerset police after Suddards's body was discovered. |
| Fitton said the first of the three offences related to the burglary, near Thornbury vicarage, at Vine Cottage. | Fitton said the first of the three offences related to the burglary, near Thornbury vicarage, at Vine Cottage. |
| Its owners, Alan and Margaret Pinder, had spent Christmas away. When they returned home on 2 January they discovered the house had been burgled, the court heard. | |
| The court heard the home had been subject to an "untidy search", with food and drink discarded, half-eaten, in the kitchen. The contents of drawers in the home had been strewn all over the floor, Fitton added. | The court heard the home had been subject to an "untidy search", with food and drink discarded, half-eaten, in the kitchen. The contents of drawers in the home had been strewn all over the floor, Fitton added. |
| "And on the kitchen table there was a note, pinned using two kitchen knives," he said. | "And on the kitchen table there was a note, pinned using two kitchen knives," he said. |
| "It was written in a curious, disguised style of writing. But it is what it says that is of significance." | "It was written in a curious, disguised style of writing. But it is what it says that is of significance." |
| The jury was shown an image of the note, written in capital letters in red ink, with a "squirly symbol" in the top right-hand corner. | The jury was shown an image of the note, written in capital letters in red ink, with a "squirly symbol" in the top right-hand corner. |
| Fitton said the contents "meant nothing" to the Pinders, who are not religious. | Fitton said the contents "meant nothing" to the Pinders, who are not religious. |
| He added: "It offers a disturbing insight into the mind of whoever wrote it." | He added: "It offers a disturbing insight into the mind of whoever wrote it." |
| The court heard there was strong forensic support that some of the boot markings discovered at the scene matched those recovered from the defendant later. | |
| Fitton said Farrow "may have contributed to the low-level DNA" on the handle of one of the knives found piercing the note. | Fitton said Farrow "may have contributed to the low-level DNA" on the handle of one of the knives found piercing the note. |