Murder accused 'admits sex with model's corpse'

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A man accused of murdering a British model admitted having sex with her corpse but denied killing her, a British court heard overnight in what prosecutors called a "desperate" defence.

Prosecutors told London's Old Bailey court DNA tests showed that chef Mark Dixie, 37, had sex with 18-year-old model Sally Anne Bowman, who was found dead with stab wounds in the neck and abdomen in Croydon, south London.

They said Dixie's defence was that he had stumbled across the body while drunk and "took advantage of the situation" to have sex with the corpse.

The defence "is born out of desperation for all too obvious reasons," prosecutor Brian Altman told the court. "The Crown says Dixie killed that young girl."

Ms Bowman was stabbed at about 4:00am in September 2005, shortly after being dropped off close to her home by her boyfriend, prosecutors said.

Her body was discovered about two hours later by a neighbour who saw a pair of legs sticking out near a house opposite.

"There she found, half on the drive and half on the pavement, the naked and bloodied body of Sally Anne," the prosecutor said."She had been savagely and brutally killed."

"The motivation for the killing was sex for the killer's own sexual gratification," Mr Altman told the court.

"He says he was just in Blenheim Crescent by chance under the influence of drink and drugs and he chanced upon her body," he said. "He says he took advantage of the situation and had sex with her when she was dead."

"That, we say astonishingly, is his defence."

Ms Bowman was a talented musician and had won a place at the British Record Industry Trust School. At the time of her death she was working as a hairdresser and part-time model. Her dream was to become a top fashion model.

Dixie, of no fixed address, had been celebrating his birthday on the night she was killed. The trial continues.

-Reuters

Topics: murder-and-manslaughter, law-crime-and-justice, crime, england, united-kingdom