Man charged with murder of couple feared he would be linked to £28,000 bingo hall burglary

A woman made a desperate call to police moments before she and her husband were stabbed to death at their home, a court heard.

The bodies of Michelle Hibbert, 29, and her husband Geoffrey, 61, were found on June 20 last year.  

The couple had gone out for a drink in Reading on the evening of June 19, leaving Stanley Elliott, who denies their murders, in their home.

They returned home to Buckland Avenue, Basingstoke, but were stabbed to death within half an hour of their return, Winchester Crown Court heard.

Mr Hibbert died as a result of 58 stab wounds and blunt force injuries, while Mrs Hibbert died of multiple stab wounds.

The jury heard Mrs Hibbert made a 999 call using Elliott’s mobile phone, during which she said she and her husband had been stabbed and gave his name to the operator as the person who had attacked them.  She then started screaming “No, no, no”.

The prosecutor said DNA tests on blood stains at the property were a billion times more likely to be linked to the two victims and the defendant than to another person. She added a similar match was found on blood discovered on the body of Elliott, and on his motorcycle, after he was arrested.

The court heard when police searched the house they found that a network hard drive believed to have been connected to CCTV cameras had been removed. Unconnected covert cameras were also found inside the house, including a teddy bear with a camera in its eye.

The jury was told Stanley Elliott may have believed he was being linked to a £28,000 bingo hall burglary that Mr Hibbert had been accused of committing.

The victim was due to appear in court accused of being involved in the break-in at Buzz Bingo in Basingstoke, because his mobile phone was found at the scene.

The prosecution said a court document - showing that Mr Hibbert claimed to have lent his phone to Elliott at the time of the burglary - was found by police in a bin at the victim's home.

Elliott, of Vidlers Farm, Kiln Road, Sherborne St John, Hampshire, denies two counts of murder and the trial continues.