A man who had been babysitting a young child stabbed the boy’s parents to death in a “savage” attack when they returned home, a court has been told.
Stanley Elliott, 53, is currently on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of the murder of Geoffrey Hibbert, 61, and his 29-year-old wife Michelle – charges he denies.
Mr Hibbert died as a result of 58 stab wounds and blunt force injuries, while Ms Hibbert died of multiple stab wounds and was found lying partly naked on their bed, the court heard on Tuesday.
Elliott may have become angered in connection with a ￡28,000 burglary at a bingo hall which Mr Hibbert had been accused of committing, prosecutor Sarah Jones QC told the jury
Mr Hibbert had been due to appear in court over his alleged involvement in the break-in at Buzz Bingo in Basingstoke, because his mobile phone was found at the scene.
But according to a court document – found in a bin at Mr Hibbert’s home while police investigated his death – he had claimed to have lent his phone to Elliott at the time of the burglary, Ms Jones said.
It is not known for certain whether Elliott had seen the court document and whether this was the motive for the murders, the prosecutor added.
Elliott – of Vidlers Farm, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John – had been asked by the couple to look after their young son while they went for a night out in Reading on 19 June last year, Ms Jones said.
But when they returned to their home in Buckland Avenue, Basingstoke, in the early hours, they were stabbed to death while their son slept in his bedroom, the jury was told.
“Michelle Hibbert replied to a text from a friend hoping they had got home safe just as she was approaching their address,” Ms Jones said. “It’s ironic she is reassuring her friend she is home safe because even though she would soon be returning home, she wasn't safe.
“Within half an hour, both had been stabbed multiple times and were bleeding to death in their home.
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“Someone who they thought was a friend, someone who they had trusted to look after their child, Stan Elliott, has turned on them and had savagely murdered them in their home with their son sleeping in a nearby bedroom.”
The jury was played a recording of a 999 call made by Ms Hibbert, using the defendant’s mobile phone, in which she can be heard pleading for the attacker to stop so she can look after her son.
She is heard telling the operator: “Someone has just stabbed me and stabbed my husband. I'm in my house ... You have got to come soon or my husband is going to get killed.”
Ms Hibbert is then heard screaming before shouting: “No, no, please. I have got to look after [my son], please.”
The jury was also shown police body-worn video footage captured by the first officers to arrive at the scene as they discovered the two bodies and the crying son in his bedroom.
The trial continues.
Additional reporting by PA