Murder accused went to the pub after leaving body in woodland, court told
Matthew Mason, 19, is on trial accused of murdering 15-year-old Alex Rodda in Cheshire.
A court has been told a teenager accused of murdering his schoolboy lover went to meet the Young Farmers' Club in a pub after leaving his body in woodland.
Matthew Mason, 19, allegedly bludgeoned 15-year-old Alex Rodda to death with a wrench in Ashley, Cheshire, on December 12 last year, after paying more than £2,000 to stop him revealing their sexual relationship.
On the second day of the trial at Chester Crown Court, Ian Unsworth QC, prosecuting, said on 6th December Mason, who lived with his family on a farm near Knutsford, had searched the internet for "what would happen if you kicked someone down the stairs'', "everyday poison'' and "the mysteries of Cheshire unsolved deaths of missing people''.
Mr Unsworth said: "The prosecution say the inference is clear from these searches. The defendant had murder on his mind.''
On 12th December, Alex, a pupil at Holmes Chapel High School, told a friend he was meeting a "guy'' who wanted him to go to a "special'' or "secret'' place in a forest.
He was picked up by Mason, who drove to the area of woodland where Alex's body was found the following morning, the jury was told.
Mr Unsworth said Mason's Renault Clio was in the area for at least 35 minutes.
He said: "It was during that time that the prosecution suggest that Alex was subjected to a brutal, horrific and violent attack at the hands of this defendant.''
After driving away from the woods, Mason met friends in the Red Lion pub in Pickmere and told them he had had a nosebleed, pointing to spots of blood on his jeans, the court heard.
He then said he was leaving to meet the Young Farmers at the Golden Pheasant pub in Plumley, where he arrived shortly after 8pm, Mr Unsworth said.
He told the court: "As described by one who knew him, he appeared to be his normal happy self.''
Mason left the pub after about 90 minutes and later sent his girlfriend a goodnight photo of him smiling with no top on, Mr Unsworth said.
The court heard Alex's mother, Lisa Rodda, began to call his friends when he failed to answer phone calls later that night.
She eventually contacted Mason, who told her Alex had gone into Manchester with friends.
The jury was shown CCTV of Mason's car returning to the woods after 1am, where it remained for about an hour.
Mr Unsworth told jurors they must consider whether Mason had intended to move Alex's body.
Mason, of Ash Lane, Ollerton, denies murder.