A jury has convicted a Brighton man of murdering a couple in their home in Newhaven.
Derek Martin admitted killing Joshua and Chloe Bashford but said that it was manslaughter, claiming diminished responsibility, blaming a mental disorder.
Martin, 67, from Moulsecoomb, killed Chloe, 30, in a fit of anger – and when her husband, 33, arrived home shortly afterwards, Martin murdered him too.
The jury at Brighton Crown Court was told that the defendant was close to the couple, regarding Chloe as his step-daughter although they were not related.
The murders left four children orphaned.
Martin walked into Brighton Police Station, in John Street, on the evening of Friday 9 June 2023 and told the person on the front counter: “I’ve killed two people.”
Initially, he went back outside to speak on the phone before officers came to speak to him.
The jury was shown CCTV clips of Martin going about his normal routine before he turned violent, clubbing Chloe with a hammer and stabbing her repeatedly.
He was seen ordering a drink at the Costa coffee shop, in Newhaven, visiting Sainsbury’s with Chloe and going for breakfast with her at the Stonehouse restaurant, in Peacehaven.
Later, they returned together to the Bashford family home, in Lewes Road, Newhaven, where Chloe and Josh lived with their four children.
In a police interview, Martin said that he had been cleaning a window at the house when he “just flipped” during a row about money with Chloe.
He struck her over the head with a hammer then stabbed her to death.
Martin said that Josh, 33, arrived home a short while later and saw him with a knife in his hand. Josh ran upstairs but was chased by Martin who repeatedly stabbed him then strangled him to death.
The 67-year-old, of Moulsecoomb Way, Brighton, then changed his clothes, picked up the couple’s four children from school and took them to both Costa and McDonald’s in Newhaven.
During this time, he discarded Chloe’s mobile phone in bushes near Sainsbury’s.
He then took the children to their grandmother’s house, in Brighton, before buying some beers from a shop in Whitehawk which he drank on the seafront.
Shortly afterwards, he handed himself in at the police station.
Officers went to the Bashford family home where they found the two bodies – and Martin was arrested.
The jury was told that Martin and Chloe became close a couple of years before the murders. Martin knew Chloe because he was previously married to her mother, Elaine Sturges, but they had divorced some years before she was born.
While he was remanded in custody, Sussex Police issued a public appeal to help find Chloe’s mobile phone. Martin saw the appeal and passed a hand-written note to a prison guard which confirmed where he had discarded the device.
This contained vital evidence which was subsequently used in the trial.
Martin was remanded in custody today (Friday 24 October). He is due to be sentenced by the trial judge, Dame Justine Thornton, known as Mrs Justice Thornton, on Thursday 6 November.
Detective Chief Inspector Kimball Edey, of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: “I would like to thank Chloe and Josh’s children and their families for their patience during this investigation.
“It goes without saying how sorry I am that they have had to suffer the loss of Chloe and Josh and I am in awe at the courage and strength they have all shown following the events of Friday 9 June 2023.
“The result today will, sadly, not change what happened, but I hope that it will enable them to end this chapter and move onto the next.
“I would also like to thank the members of the public who have supported this investigation.
“Finally, I commend the many members of staff and police officers who have worked tirelessly to help bring Derek Martin to justice.”
