Con man 'killed suspicious lover'

Glenn Rycroft is accused of killing Gareth MacDonald

A married man was killed by his convicted con artist lover with a fire extinguisher after becoming suspicious of his past, a court has heard.

Gareth MacDonald, 30, from Prestatyn, Denbighshire, had left his wife and children for ex-British Airways steward Glenn Rycroft, the Old Bailey heard.

Mr Macdonald was killed in a Travelodge hotel room at Heston services, near London in September 2007.

Mr Rycroft, 33, of Holywell, Flintshire, denies murder.

Crispin Aylett QC, prosecuting, told the court: "The defendant murdered Gareth MacDonald by hitting him twice over the head with a fire extinguisher."

The jury were told that couple had stayed overnight in the hotel where Mr Rycroft was seen on CCTV driving off at 7am.

Mr Rycroft - who the prosecution claimed had already murdered Mr MacDonald by that stage - returned shortly afterwards and after returning to the room ran to the reception asking for an ambulance.

This defendant has shown himself to be rather more than a common-or-garden liar, he is rather a good one Crispin Aylett QC, prosecuting

"Inside the room, Gareth MacDonald was lying face down on the bed. He was wearing only his underpants," said Mr Aylett.

"There was blood everywhere as a result of two large, curved cuts to the back of Mr MacDonald's head.

"The weapon was still close at hand. On the floor, by the side of the bed, was a blood-stained fire extinguisher.

Mr MacDonald, a father of three, married his childhood sweetheart two years before he was killed.

But after meeting Mr Rycroft over the internet in 2006, he separated from his wife and moved in with him in north Wales.

But, the court heard, the relationship was becoming strained by the summer of 2007.

Mr MacDonald was found dead in a motorway Travelodge

The day before Mr MacDonald died, the couple had travelled to meet Mr Rycroft's aunt and uncle to pay back £5,000 he owed them after he had encouraged them and others to put money into a fraudulent investment scheme he had set up.

It was en route to their house that the couple became lost and pulled into a Travelodge, the jury was told.

Mr Aylett said: "There is most likely no single reason why the defendant murdered Gareth MacDonald that morning.

"What happened in that hotel room would seem to be a culmination of a series of different factors, not least of which was the desire not to lose face in the eyes of his aunt and uncle.

"But there were other reasons - the defendant's relationship with Gareth MacDonald had not been going well, the defendant was under a great deal of financial pressure, and then there is the personality of the defendant himself."

Mr Rycroft, who is originally from Salford, Greater Manchester, had previously cheated friends and colleagues of more than £200,000 in a fraudulent investment scheme and by pretending he had cancer, the court was told.

In November 2000, Mr Rycroft went on unpaid leave claiming falsely that he had a cancerous brain tumour, the court was told.

He shaved his head to pretend he had been receiving chemotherapy and forged a letter from a doctor appearing to confirm his condition.

Then Mr Rycroft borrowed money after telling his family and friends that he needed expensive medical treatment that was only available in Australia.

Over a period of just over a year he took 11 holidays Crispin Aylett QC, prosecuting

Mr Aylett said: "Fund-raising events were organised, collections took place at local clubs, raffle tickets were sold on the basis that British Airways had donated a number of free flights.

"All the while, the defendant was travelling the world and living high on hock. Over a period of just over a year he took 11 holidays.

The fraud was exposed when a BA colleague started asking questions about the raffle prizes apparently being offered.

In December 2003 he admitted 25 charges of obtaining money by deception to the tune of more than £200,000, none of which has ever been recovered.

The trial continues.