A prolific gay conman murdered his married lover after his victim became suspicious that he was plundering his bank account, a court heard today.
Glenn Rycroft had previously conned family and friends out of £200,000 by pretending he had a brain tumour and needed expensive treatment and also getting them to invest in a bogus investment scheme.
The former British Airways steward admitted admitted 25 charges of obtaining money by deception in December 2003.
Today the Old Bailey heard that Gareth MacDonald, 30, a married father of three, left his wife to start a relationship with Mr Rycroft, 33, but began to suspect that he was being robbed in 2007.
The couple endured a stormy relationship and in September 2007 Mr Rycroft reported that he had found Mr MacDonald’s body in a Travelodge they had been staying in.
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Mr Rycroft claimed he had left early in the morning and returned later to find the corpse.
But today Crispin Aylett, QC, for the prosecution, said: “The defendant murdered Gareth MacDonald by hitting him twice over the head with a fire extinguisher.
“Inside the room, Gareth MacDonald was lying face down on the bed. There was blood everywhere as a result of two large, curved cuts to the back of Mr MacDonald’s head.
“The weapon was still close at hand. On the floor, by the side of the bed, was a blood-stained fire extinguisher. Gareth MacDonald had obviously been struck with the base of the fire extinguisher. He had been struck with such force that he was already dead.”
The prosecution claim Mr Rycroft killed Mr MacDonald, from Prestatyn, north Wales, after he threatened to expose him over money that had gone missing from his account.
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The pair were on the way to meet an aunt and uncle of Mr Rycroft so he could pay them back £5,000 he owed them at the time of Mr MacDonald’s death.
Mr Aylett described to the jury how, before meeting Mr MacDonald the defendant had conned friends and family out of £200,000, none of which has been recovered.
In September 2000 he had convinced friends and family to invest in a “British Airways Investment Bond” and they were promised returns of between 10 - 15 per cent, the court heard.
Several people gave him a total of £144,000, including two women who gave him their life savings to invest. Two months later he took unpaid leave and then resigned from his job, claiming he had a cancerous brain tumour, the jury heard.
To make out he was receiving chemotherapy he shaved his head and told one investor, his brother-in-law, that he was being insensitive asking for his money back, it was said.
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He also told close family and friends that he needed expensive medical treatment only available in Australia and they rallied round, giving thousands of pounds they could not afford, the court heard.
But the whole thing was a charade, the jury were told.
Mr Aylett said that all the while Mr Rycroft was living the high life and travelling around the world. In just over a year, he said, he took eleven holidays, to Florida, Bahamas, a golfing holiday in Portugal, to America and in July 2001, on the pretext of getting treatment, went to Australia with two friends, staying in expensive hotels.
Mr Aylett said it was important the jury knew the truth about Mr Rycroft so they could decide on the character of the man when assessing his claims.
“This defendant has shown himself to be rather more than a common or garden liar. He is, you may think, rather a good one. He persuaded a number of friends and relatives to part with money in what must have been a convincing investment scam.
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“I suggested earlier that you might think that killing Gareth MacDonald to avoid having to meet his aunt and uncle might be regarded as rather an extreme step to take. On the other hand, this is a man who was prepared to claim to have cancer in order both to make money and, no doubt, avoid being revealed as a fraudster.”
Mr Aylett told the jury: “The fact that the defendant has behaved dishonestly in the past does not make him guilty of murder. On the other hand the prosecution suggest that it is open to you to take account of this evidence in assessing the truthfulness or otherwise of this defendant and the lengths to which he is prepared to go in order to keep his head above water.”
Mr Rycroft, from Rhyl, Holywell, Clwyd, North Wales, denies murder.
The trial continues.