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Murder victim 'refused advances' | Murder victim 'refused advances' |
(20 minutes later) | |
A man accused of two murders near bus stops killed a French student after she refused his advances, a court was told. | |
Levi Bellfield, 39, was accused of "massaging" his evidence and giving fictitious accounts during a clash with the prosecution at the Old Bailey. | Levi Bellfield, 39, was accused of "massaging" his evidence and giving fictitious accounts during a clash with the prosecution at the Old Bailey. |
Mr Bellfield, of west London, denies two counts of murder and two of attempted murder between 2001 and 2004. | Mr Bellfield, of west London, denies two counts of murder and two of attempted murder between 2001 and 2004. |
The student, Amelie Delagrange, 22, and Marsha McDonnell, 19, were both killed by blows to the head, the court heard. | |
Miss Delagrange was struck as she crossed Twickenham Green, west London, at night after getting off at the wrong bus stop in August 2004. | |
'On the prowl' | 'On the prowl' |
Brian Altman, prosecuting, said to Mr Bellfield: "You were cruising inside a van without any obvious destination, trying to pick up women who took your fancy - young, preferably blonde, attractive and alone. Preying on the bus routes?" | Brian Altman, prosecuting, said to Mr Bellfield: "You were cruising inside a van without any obvious destination, trying to pick up women who took your fancy - young, preferably blonde, attractive and alone. Preying on the bus routes?" |
Mr Bellfield answered: "No I was not" to each point. He denied he had been "on the prowl" and that it was him in a white Ford Courier van seen following Miss Delagrange. | |
Amelie rejected you and paid the price for that rejection Brian AltmanCrown Prosecution Service | |
Mr Altman accused Mr Bellfield of lying about another murder and attacks on three other women and at one point suggested he was a "coward" for trying to blame some of the attacks on his workers. | |
Mr Bellfield, a wheel clamper, hit back by saying he had been asked a trick question and telling the prosecutor: "I am not going to bite". | Mr Bellfield, a wheel clamper, hit back by saying he had been asked a trick question and telling the prosecutor: "I am not going to bite". |
Mr Altman said Miss Delagrange was attacked during eight minutes. | |
He said: "You had overtaken Amelie who you had spotted. You slowed down and you sought to engage her, laying in wait for her. | |
"Was the idea to get her into your van? As she crossed the green, you got out to see - having tooled up with a hammer or some such. | |
"But she would not engage you and in an outburst of sudden temper, you lashed out and hit her from behind. | |
"It was you and no one else but you who killed her? It was not enough to hit her once, you struck her again and possibly a third time?" | |
Mr Bellfield denied the claims and added: "The only thing I have done in these proceedings is to tell the truth." | |
False imprisonment | |
Mr Altman continued: "Amelie rejected you and paid the price for that rejection." | |
However, Mr Bellfield said he had never met Miss Delagrange. | |
He denies murdering Miss Delagrange and gap-year student Marsha McDonnell, both of whom died after being hit on the head with a blunt object. | |
He also denies the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, 18, and hairdresser Irma Dragoshi, 33, and the kidnap and false imprisonment of Anna-Maria Rennie, 17. |