Basingstoke double murder trial begins
Murder accused may have thought he was being linked to burglary, court told
Last updated 8th Feb 2022
A man is accused of “hideously” stabbing to death a husband and wife because he may have believed he was being linked to a £28,000 bingo hall burglary, a court has heard.
Stanley Elliott, 53, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of the murder of 61-year-old Geoffrey Hibbert and his wife Michelle, 29.
Sarah Jones QC, prosecuting, told the jury that Elliott might have become angered in connection with the burglary at a bingo hall, that Mr Hibbert had been accused of committing.
The victim was due to appear in court accused of being involved in the break-in at Buzz Bingo in Basingstoke, because his mobile phone was found at the scene.
Ms Jones said a court document, showing that Mr Hibbert claimed to have lent his phone to Elliott at the time of the burglary, was found by police investigating the double murder, in a bin at the victim’s home.
She said: “We can’t say for sure the burglary has anything to do with why Geoffrey and Michelle met their death, it may be a red herring, it may be he (Elliott) was acting for an unknown reason, only he can tell us.”
Ms Jones said that the two victims had gone out for a drink in Reading, Berkshire, on the evening of June 19, 2021.
She said the couple returned to their home in Buckland Avenue, Basingstoke, Hampshire, in the early hours, where they were stabbed to death by the defendant.
Ms Jones said that Mr Hibbert died as a result of 58 stab wounds and blunt force injuries, while Mrs Hibbert died of multiple stab wounds and was found lying, partly naked, on the bed in their bedroom.
Ms Jones added that Mr Hibbert suffered “defence wounds” to his arms and hands which showed he put up a “spirited defence” to the attack.
She said that Mrs Hibbert made a 999 call using the defendant’s mobile phone, during which she described that she and her husband had been stabbed and gave Elliott’s name to the operator as the person who had attacked them.
The prosecutor said that DNA tests on blood stains at the property were a billion times more likely to be linked to the two victims and the defendant than to another person.
She added a similar match was found on blood discovered on the body of Elliott, and on his motorcycle, after he was arrested.
Ms Jones said that when police searched the house they found that a network hard drive believed to have been connected to CCTV cameras had been removed.
Elliott, of Vidlers Farm, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Hampshire, denies two counts of murder and the trial continues.