Colchester murder trial jury expected to continue deliberations today

Before Ipswich Crown Court is Danny Bostock, 32, of Berberis Walk, Colchester, who denies murder and attempted arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered in the early hours of August 22.

The jury retired to consider its verdicts at lunchtime yesterday (Thursday).

Giving evidence during the trial, Bostock accepted that whoever stabbed 52-year-old Mr McGhee 14 times and cut his throat must have had blood on their clothing.

He claimed he had put the pink “Diesel” T-shirt he had worn on the night of the alleged murder in a communal washing machine at his accommodation in Berberis Close and hadn’t seen it since.

He denied getting rid of it because it had Mr McGhee’s blood on it.

During cross-examination by Andrew Jackson, prosecuting, Bostock admitted lying to police by saying he had been wearing flip-flops and not his Lonsdale trainers on the night of Mr McGhee’s murder.

“You are not not innocent of this murder and the reason you told police you were wearing flip-flops and told them a lie is because you knew perfectly well that your trainers had been paddled around in Mr McGhee’s blood and you got rid of them?” said Mr Jackson to which Bostock replied: “No.”

Bostock denied going into Mr McGhee’s ground floor flat in Forest Road, Colchester, with the intention of stealing his prized coin collection and stabbing him 14 times.

He also denied trying to start a fire in the flat to destroy evidence.

It has been alleged that Bostock, who was also a coin collector, murdered Mr McGhee after McGhee disturbed him during a burglary at his ground floor flat.

It is alleged that after stabbing Mr McGhee Bostock tried to cause a gas explosion by turning on the gas oven and setting light to a cloth to destroy evidence.

The court heard that McGhee was a collector of rare and valuable coins, including special edition 50p pieces which bore images of Beatrix Potter characters.