Alleged murderer boasted of eating victim’s flesh, jury is told

A couple killed, decapitated and dismembered a man before one of them boasted of eating him, a court heard today.

Benjamin Atkins, 49, told his partner Debbie Pereira, 39, that he had cooked Simon Shotton’s head and “ate his cheeks”,  jurors were told.

Shotton, 48, had his limbs sawn off and dumped in a plastic bag, Winchester Crown Court heard. One of his legs was discovered by a passer-by, leading to the launch of a murder hunt.

After Mr Atkins and Ms Pereira were arrested, the court heard, they were covertly recorded in the back of a police van bragging about the killing – with  Mr Atkins caught on tape saying he’d do it “again and again”‘.

Paul Calvin KC, opening the trial for the prosecution, said Ms Pereira asked Mr Atkins: “Do you regret anything?” to which he “chillingly” responded: “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.’”

Mr Calvin said Shotton was murdered in August last year in Bournemouth, Dorset.

“He was murdered, his body was dismembered and various body parts were discovered in the Boscombe area of Bournemouth last summer,” he said. “The facts surrounding this case are grisly.”

He said the first body parts were discovered by Dana Burton, who was working for an events company handing out leaflets on the town’s seafront on Aug 26.

Ms Burton took shelter from the rain under a tree’s overhanging branches, but was startled when a large package landed in front of her with a heavy thud, the prosecutor continued.

She noticed the object smelled as if something was rotting, but decided to walk away as she convinced herself there was nothing to worry about.

The shape ‘was that of a human foot’

“As she approached the bench where she had previously sheltered she thought that the package had been moved and the grey masking tape looked loose,” Mr Calvin 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.”

When police arrived at the beach, a search uncovered another leg, the prosecutor said. A sample of muscle tissue revealed the remains belonged to Shotton, who at the time of his death was squatting in a derelict bed and breakfast in Boscombe.

After obtaining call data from the dead man’s mobile phones, the police went to a nearby pawn shop where they discovered Ms Pereira had brought in Shotton’s iPhone on Aug 18.

On Sept 1, the police went to Ms Pereira’s home and discovered Mr Atkins, her partner of 18 months, hiding behind a wheelbarrow at the side of the property.

The couple were arrested and the following day, after conducting a forensic search of the house, police found the severed arms of Mr Shotton in two black bin bags outside.

Mr Calvin said when the couple were taken to Poole magistrates’ court on Sept 2, police set up a covert device in the back of the van to record their conversation.

In the recording, Mr Atkins can be heard telling his girlfriend: “I went into the garden to get rid of the f---ing arms.”

During her final police interview, on Sept 3, Ms Pereira made a series of statements which “are not reflected” in the audio recording, the prosecutor said.

Torso found in suitcase covered in flies

Pereira told police: “[Mr 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 told the detectives that Shotton had stayed at her address two weeks prior to his death, and Mr Atkins did not like him as he was not giving them enough drugs for allowing him to stay.

Ms Pereira also claimed that one evening, Mr Atkins shouted at Shotton, and she later woke up to find her partner in the garden burning a fire and sawing with a “saw from Wilko’s”.

The trial was also told Shotton’s torso was discovered in Boscombe Chine Gardens in a black suitcase covered in flies and which had “a stench of death”.

Ms Pereira and Mr Atkins have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, perverting the course of justice, and preventing the burial of a corpse.

The trial, which is expected to last four weeks, continues.