Pic:Bamford captured a selfie of himself in hospital hours after the killing
Crime reporter(wp/es):
A teenager has been convicted of murdering a high-ranking civil servant at his country home after they met via gay dating app Grindr.
Ben Bamford, 18, inflicted more than 40 injuries on senior HM Revenue and Customs official Paul Jefferies, 52, including slashing his throat.
Mr Jefferies, an adviser to ex-chancellor George Osborne’s Treasury team, was found naked with a tea towel over his head on a blood-splattered kitchen floor at his Grade II-listed cottage in Mayfield, East Sussex.
The 52-year-old moved to Sussex from London five years ago following the breakdown of a relationship.
Lewes Crown Court heard Bamford intended to rob Mr Jefferies on February 23 after his drug debt spiralled to around £400 which he was under pressure to repay.
The teenager, of Crowborough, denied murder, and claimed he was protecting himself from Mr Jefferies after he had "come on to him".
But jurors convicted him of murder after deliberating for three hours.
Bamford stood emotionless in the dock as the verdict was announced by the jury foreman.
He met Mr Jefferies via Grindr some two years before the killing when he was aged 15, and resumed contact in December last year following a break.
Unknown to Mr Jefferies, by the time they met again Bamford was "desperate" for money to settle drugs debts and was being pressurised by a dealer called Glen.
During his defence, Bamford told the court he had met Mr Jefferies in the hope he would give him money, as he had done so in the past.
Bamford claimed he stabbed Mr Jefferies to protect himself after he "got on top of me" and carried on having sex with him after telling him to stop.
After leaving Mr Jefferies for dead on the kitchen floor at his Grade II-listed cottage, Bamford took his Audi TT car and picked up a friend en route to Eastbourne District General Hospital.
Jurors were shown a selfie picture of Bamford flicking his middle finger while lying on his hospital bed after he was admitted claiming he had self-harmed to avoid police involvement.
His mother Annmarie Bamford told the court how she was left "dumb-founded" after her son told her he had killed someone as he recuperated at home following an operation for his injuries.
Mrs Bamford told jurors: "I kept saying that I need to know what's happening. And then he shouted, 'I think I've killed somebody'.
Shocked at his claims, Mrs Bamford went online to find anything to support what he was saying - and she found a report of a suspicious death in Mayfield.
Following the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Tanya Jones, who led the investigation for Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: "This was a horrific attack by a teenage boy who preyed on his victim with the aim of exploiting him for money.
"The level of violence he inflicted on Paul Jefferies was extreme and then he fled the scene in his victim's car. He showed no remorse, smirking for a selfie photo just hours later.
"However, the jury did not believe his story.
Friends described Mr Jefferies as a “warm and humorous man” following the outcome of the trial."Although this can never undo what he has done, I hope it will bring some justice for Paul's family, friends and colleagues."
His colleague, Adrian Cooper, deputy director of specialist personal tax at HMRC, said: "Paul was a highly valued colleague and friend.
"While he was a private and reserved, he was also a warm and humorous man, kind, thoughtful, professional and dedicated to public service.
"He will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by all who worked with him."
Bamford will be sentenced at a later date.
No comments:
Post a Comment