Man 'baked murder victim's arm'

Richard Markham: Trail of blood led police to his house, the court heard

A furniture dealer murdered his drinking partner and then baked his arm in an oven, a court has heard.

Richard Markham dumped Tristian Lovelock's severed head and other body parts across parkland in Basingstoke, Hampshire, the jury at Winchester Crown Court heard on Monday.

He then fled to the United States after leaving messages on friends' answering machines boasting of the killing, said prosecutor Michael Parroy QC.

Mr Markham, 28, formerly of St Nicholas Court, Basingstoke, denies murdering Mr Lovelock, 25, a carpenter, between 29 May and 1 June last year.

Jurors heard that police were led to his home by a trail of blood on 31 May.

Tristian's like lying on the floor in about one, two, three, four, five, six, seven bits

Answer phone message

They found Mr Lovelock's partially cooked arm in a roasting tin next to a plate with a knife and fork in the kitchen, the court heard.

In the sitting room was his decapitated body with a World War I bayonet embedded in its back.

The body had been cut almost in half and a hacksaw, saw, sword and a knife littered the blood-spattered room.

Other body parts were found strewn near Mr Markham's home in South Ham.

The victim's head was found in bushes in a playing field and an arm and a leg were found in two different gardens.

The two men were friends who were well-known for their rowdy drinking sessions at the King of Wessex pub in Basingstoke, the court heard.

Mr Markham said in his statement, which was read out in court by Mr Parroy, that he then stuffed the body parts into a plastic bag and decided to bury them in a nearby park.

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

"Pieces kept falling out of the bag. I got to the park with the head in the bag and a leg under each arm. I realised there was no way I could realistically dispose of him," he said in the statement.

On his way back to the house Markham realised he had dropped an arm, which he then threw into some bushes.

This was found by a man who had been cutting his hedge.

When he returned home he said the oven was on because he had intended to cook chicken burger sandwiches.

His statement said: "I fell asleep for a while and when I woke up I could smell burning and then I realised what I had done. I took the arm out of the oven."

Jurors were played transcripts of messages left on the answering machines of two of the men's mutual friends.

In the first message, left in the early hours of 31 May, the voice said: "Tristian's like lying on the floor in about one, two, three, four, five, six, seven bits [sound of laughter on tape] with a big knife sticking out of his back.

"There is all blood and guts all over the floor, all over the place, all over everything."

'New York' suggested

In the second message, described as drunken and rambling, the voice said: "Ian, bruv, I don't know why I just did what I did, man."

Later that day, the defendant caught a taxi to Heathrow and asked for a "ticket to anywhere" at the British Airways desk, the court heard.

The assistant suggested New York and Mr Markham agreed, later checking into a hotel there.

Mr Markham, dressed in a grey suit, white shirt and grey patterned tie and wearing glasses, showed no emotion in court.

The trial continues.