Couple ‘murdered, decapitated and dismembered victim before one boasted about cooking and eating his cheeks’
A COUPLE murdered, decapitated and dismembered a man before one boasted about cooking and eating his cheeks, a court heard.
Simon Shotton was allegedly killed by Debbie Ann Pereira, 38, and 48-year-old Benjamin Lee Atkins in Bournemouth.
The 48-year-old’s limbs were removed with a saw and his legs dumped in a plastic bag on a cliffside path.
Winchester Crown Court heard Pereira and Atkins were recorded bragging about the killing in a police van after their arrest.
Pereira had asked her boyfriend “do you regret anything?”, causing him to reply: “I’ll look ‘em straight in the eye and say, ‘Yeah. I’d do it again and again and again.
“If you let me go today, I’d find another one and do it again. Drug dealers, and pushers. Kill, decapitate, and eat the f***er.”
Atkins also boasted about how he “cooked” Simon’s head and “ate his cheeks”, jurors were told.
The court heard how the horror unfolded in August last year in the popular seaside resort.
Prosecutor Paul Calvin KC said: “[Simon] was murdered, his body was dismembered and various body parts were discovered in the Boscombe area of Bournemouth last summer.
“The facts surrounding this case are grisly.”
Jurors heard pedestrian Dana Burton was handing out leaflets on the seafront when she sought shelter from the rain under a tree.
A “large package” then landed in front of her that “smelt badly” as if something was rotting, it was said.
Ms Burton originally left the package but later examined it when she realised it had moved and the grey masking tape on it was loose.
The prosecutor said: “She went up to the package and realised that the shape was that of a human foot and some of it had become exposed.
“Those observations combined with the appalling smell made her realise that she ought to report it to the police.”
‘Smell of death’
Officers searched the area around the Manor Steps Zig Zag, a path leading to the beach, and discovered another leg.
Simon’s headless torso was later found in a black suitcase in Boscombe Chine Gardens after a cop followed “the smell of death”, it was said.
The court heard a post mortem was carried out and a pathologist noted the amputations were “amateur enough they had not been surgically removed”.
Police identified Simon using the remains and established he had been squatting in a “derelict” bed and breakfast in Boscombe.
Using data recovered from his phone, they discovered Pereira had taken it to a pawn shop on August 18, jurors were told.
The court heard officers went to the couple’s home, where Simon’s severed arms were found in two bin bags outside.
I went into the garden to get rid of the f***ing arms.
Atkins to his girlfriend
Pereira and Atkins were charged and taken to Poole Magistrates Court unaware that police had set up a “covert device” in the back of the van.
In the recording, Atkins can be heard telling his girlfriend: “I went into the garden to get rid of the f***ing arms.”
Pereira later told police: “[Atkins] told his solicitor that if he admitted that he did it, if he admitted that he cooked Simon’s head up and ate his cheeks, would it get me off the hook.”
She also claimed Simon had been staying at her home two weeks before her death but Atkins “did not like” him as he did not give them enough drugs, it was said.
Pereira claimed she heard shouting one night and later woke up to find Atkins in the garden by a fire sawing.
The couple deny murder, perverting the course of justice, and preventing the burial of a corpse.
The trial continues.