Murder accused claims self-defence

Richard Markham claims he acted in self-defence

An accounts clerk accused of killing his friend and dismembering his body told a court he killed him in self-defence.

Richard Markham, 28, described to Winchester Crown Court how he hit Tristian Lovelock over the head with a hammer before cutting up his body, disposing of the head and limbs in a park and cooking an arm in the oven.

Mr Markham said Mr Lovelock threatened him with a bayonet and he hit him with the hammer as an act of self-defence.

Mr Markham, of St Nicholas Court, South Ham, Basingstoke, Hampshire, has pleaded not guilty to murder.

He said that on 30 May, Mr Lovelock came round to his house as arranged for the pair to drink together.

Mr Lovelock's head was discovered in bushes at a local playing field

They bought cans of Strongbow cider and went to a friend's house where they drank the cans while watching EastEnders.

After returning to Mr Markham's house, the pair started playing with his collection of weapons - a hobby that their group of friends took part in after drinking.

Mr Markham said that the evening started happily but the atmosphere changed after he criticised Mr Lovelock for starting a relationship with a mutual friend's ex-girlfriend.

Mr Markham said: "The air in the room changed, we were all happy before that.

I was in a panic, then the panic turned to rage, the fact that I had been put in this position. I totally flipped

Richard Markham

"It went from being happy and jolly to suddenly not being happy and jolly."

He said that soon afterwards Mr Lovelock waved the First World War bayonet at him.

Mr Markham said: "He was just moving back and forwards with the bayonet in front of my face.

"He was getting more and more aggressive, and aggressive like he was going to do something like stab me.

Hammer attack

"I thought I was going to get stabbed because every time Tristian had got aggressive with me he had assaulted me.

"There was a hammer on the sofa. I slid my bum forwards so I wasn't sat on the hammer so it was in my hand.

"It all happened quite quickly.

"Tristian suddenly tensed up and looked away like he was going to attack me - he suddenly went like he was going to stab me.

"I was sat down, I just leaned forward and it hit him straight in the face, it was a quick movement. I put a lot of effort into it."

"Blind panic"

As Markham described the act, he re-enacted the scene, jumping out of his chair to demonstrate the movement to the judge and the jury.

Mr Markham went on: "I had stood up by now, Tristian stood up, as he came up I knew he was going to stab me.

"I hit him hard enough for what I thought would be to knock him out so he couldn't stab me.

"I never thought it would do that to him."

Mr Markham told the jury he went into a blind panic after he realised Mr Lovelock was dead.

Hit 15 times

He said: "Then the panic turned to rage, the fact that I had been put in this position. I totally flipped.

"I had a dead person in my house. Tristian had tried to stab me.

"I didn't know what to do, I totally flipped, lost it, I picked up the hammer again, I hit him with it, I don't know how many times, on the head, head and face, about 15 times, I do not know how many, I really don't."

Mr Markham said he cut up Mr Lovelock's body with the intention of hiding the pieces and he described how he cut up the body before going to the park to bury them.

Mr Markham said: "I walked straight on to the park, I didn't have any way of effectively disposing of the body (parts) so I decided to throw them into the bushes."

When he returned to the house, he said, he was in a "blind rage" and stabbed the bayonet into Mr Lovelock's torso.

Arm in oven

He then put one of Mr Lovelock's arms into the oven.

Earlier the court heard that Mr Lovelock had several criminal convictions for assault, including charges of assault and affray in 1997 for which he served a total of eight months in prison.

The court also heard that Markham had a previous conviction for drink driving and another of driving while disqualified.

Mr Markham claimed to have grown addicted to alcohol, which he had started drinking at the age of 14.

He also told the court that he had also been bullied by his father, Major Peter Markham, as a youngster.

The trial was adjourned until Tuesday.