Homeless man 'killed and burned body' of Norfolk great-grandmother who took him in, court hears

A homeless man taken in by an elderly woman killed her and burnt her body on a bonfire in her garden after she told him to leave the house, a court has heard.

Allan Scott, 42, lodged with 83-year-old Patricia Holland at her home in Gorleston in Norfolk, the trial was told.

David Spens KC, opening the prosecution case at Norwich Crown Court, said Mrs Holland was a "charitable woman concerned with people who were down on their luck and the homeless".

He said that Scott was homeless and Mrs Holland "offered him a roof over his head".

Mr Spens said that by March 2020 Scott had moved into her home in Lowestoft Road, but before long he became aggressive towards her and eventually she wanted him to leave.

"Often he was the worse for drink," the prosecutor said. "On occasions he became violent towards her and... he became controlling of her."

"By the time a year or so had passed, by May or June 2021 if not before, Mrs Holland wanted him out of her home.

"Mr Scott however was determined to stay and his best chance of being able to stay in her house was if she went missing."

Mr Spens explained that the terms of Mrs Holland's will meant he would be evicted from the house if she died - but not if she only went missing.

The prosecutor said that Scott had "violently attacked" Mrs Holland on the night of 24 July into 25 July 2021 before burning her body on a bonfire in the back garden.

"He did that, we say, so he could pretend she had gone missing, knowing full well that the little that remained of her after the fire he had set lay buried in her back garden," he said.

Mr Spens said that Mrs Holland, who used a walking frame, was "frail" and "prone to fall but she wasn't suffering from any underlying illness".

The pensioner was reported missing by her family after she was last seen on 24 July 2021. A week later, Scott was arrested and police revealed they had found partial human remains at her house.

Mrs Holland had two sons who had died, one in 2016 and one in 2019, and had a daughter who lived nearby.

At the time of her disappearance, her family said she was a "much-loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother".

They added: "Mum is someone who is out and about daily around Gorleston town socialising and trying to help the people she meets and make their lives better."

At Norwich Crown Court, prosecutor Mr Spens said friends had described Mrs Holland as having "a heart of gold and always happy" while neighbours called her "a lovely kind-hearted woman".

He said that it was not possible to determine whether the great-grandmother was dead before she was put on the bonfire.

"When the police found her burnt and charred body there was so little of it left it wasn't possible to discover the cause of her death," said Mr Spens.

"Although it's likely she was already dead when he threw her on the bonfire, one would hope she was already dead, the available evidence doesn't show whether she was indeed dead when he did throw her."

He continued: "Either way the result is the same - the prosecution case is that he murdered her."

Scott denies murder.

Mr Spens told jurors that the defendant had pleaded guilty to the offence of unlawfully preventing a burial.

Judge Alice Robinson told jurors that Scott "has been involved with mental health services for many years" and has a personality disorder.

She said he has been assessed as fit for trial and told jurors not to form judgments about his behaviour in the dock which she said may at times seem "unusual".

The trial, which is expected to last for three weeks, continues.

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