Man 'executed' love rival with sword, court told

A man accused of murdering his partner's former lover did so in a "cold-blooded execution" with a samurai sword, a court has been told.

Michael Bretton, 41, from Dorset, is accused of killing Craig Hurcombe from Devizes, Wiltshire, and one count of stalking involving fear of violence against a woman. He denies all charges.

A jury at Bristol Crown Court heard Bretton had been having a casual relationship which he wanted to formalise. However, the woman turned him down and restarted an old relationship with Hurcombe.

Prosecutor Mark Cotter KC said Hurcombe was killed at his Somerset workplace, adding: "It was a pre-meditated and cold-blooded execution, carried out with the use of a sword."

The court was told lorry driver Hurcombe, 39, had been in a relationship with Kate Saunders before Bretton, but that relationship ended in 2023.

Saunders and Bretton met through an online dating website two years later and had a casual relationship.

The jury heard Bretton wanted to formalise this to "boyfriend and girlfriend" but Saunders turned this down and ended contact, before rekindling her relationship with Hurcombe.

It is alleged Bretton then began stalking Saunders and Hurcombe, even fitting trackers to their cars.

"What is clear from the evidence is that Mr Bretton was obsessed with Kate Saunders and was clearly jealous of her renewed relationship with Craig Hurcombe," Cotter KC, said.

The jury heard how on the evening of New Years' Day, Hurcombe had gone to work at Blanchard's yard in the Gurney Slade area of Somerset.

CCTV footage from the yard showed him waving at the camera at 18:26 GMT.

He was reported missing by his mother on 10 January and his body was found in a shallow grave in woodland at his work site on 14 January, the jury was told.

Pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffery, who carried out a post-mortem examination on Hurcombe's body, concluded he had died from a single lengthy stab injury which penetrated through his torso, Bristol Crown Court was told.

A samurai sword was recovered from the River Stour near the town of Sturminster Newton in recent weeks, which had rusted due to the length of time it had spent in the water, jurors heard.

Bretton was arrested by police on 12 January and gave a no-comment interview, beyond denying any wrongdoing.

Cotter said Bretton is expected to claim Hurcombe's death was the result of an accident, and not an attack with a blade.

The trial continues.

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