Sion Jenkins, 40, bludgeoned 13-year-old Billie-Jo Jenkins with an 18-inch metal tent spike on the patio of the family home in Hastings, East Sussex, Lewes Crown Court heard.

BBC correspondent Clarence Mitchell: motive may never be known (2'27")

Two of his natural daughters, aged 10 and 12, were outside the family house as Jenkins allegedly bludgeoned Billie-Jo and then left the house with his foster daughter dying in a pool of blood.

Jenkins, who has been suspended from his post as deputy headmaster of William Parker School for boys in Hastings, denies the murder in February last year.

Camden Pratt, prosecuting, told the court how Jenkins had spent much of the day making frustrating journeys.

At midday, he had to drive to the Safeways supermarket in Hastings to take a cheque book to his wife who was shopping there and had forgotten her cheque book.

'Horrific head injuries'

When he arrived at the supermarket he realised he had brought the wrong book and had to make another round trip.

At around 3pm he had to take a friend of his daughters home, before returning to the family home.

Sion Jenkins: denies murder

It is then that Jenkins is alleged to have murdered his foster daughter while his children waited outside.

Billie-Jo had been left painting the patio doors in the dining room of the house.

He then bundled the two girls into his white MG car on the pretext of going to get white spirit from a local DIY store.

Jenkins made a circuitous route and then on arrival at the DIY shop said he had no money and returned home, the prosecutor alleged.

After returning, Jenkins' 10-year-old daughter Lottie found Billie-Jo with "horrific head injuries", Mr Pratt said.

He added: "She had been savagely beaten about the head with a heavy metal tent spike."

Spatterings of blood

Mr Pratt added: "And, say the Crown, you will probably have little doubt in view of these savage injuries to her head in coming to the conclusion that she was indeed murdered and this trial will be about whether the defendant was the man who perpetrated the crime."

He told the jury of eight men and four women: "The principal evidence for the Crown will come from forensic scientists."

"There were no witnesses to her death. They (the scientists) will say that when the defendant's clothing was examined, upon it were spatterings of blood."

DNA testing found the blood was that of Billie-Jo, the court heard. The pattern of spatterings was consistent with the defendant having stood very close to Billie-Joe when she was being struck.

'He inflicted those fatal blows'

"It is not consistent with his attending to a dead blood-stained body."

Mr Pratt added: "The defendant denies being present when she was struck.

"In view of that blood spattering the Crown say he must have been lying about that and the only reason that he would be lying would be because he was the one who inflicted those fatal blows that led to the spattering of blood on his clothing."