Alan Wotton: Gosport man on trial for murder fell out with nephew over inheritance money, court told

A pensioner on trial for murder accused his nephew of “stealing” his inheritance money, a court has been told.

Alan Wotton, 83 of Exmouth Road, Gosport, is accused of killing of Andrew Avery, 65, charged with one count of murder and one alternative count of manslaughter. He denies the charges.

Mr Avery died after being seriously assaulted at his home in Exmouth Road on November 29, 2024. The house was also set on fire, with Wotton already pleading guilty to one count of arson.

Wotton, who previously lived in Hungary, moved back to the UK after his sister, June Avery, died in 2023. He stayed at her house while her son, Mr Avery, handled the estate and the property’s sale.

At Portsmouth Crown Court, the jury heard from Mr Avery’s widower, John Portlock, who said he lended his husband money to help buy a flat, so that Wotton could stay in the UK permanently. He and Mr Avery had been together for six years, tying the knot in August 2024.

He said: “Andrew thought it would be a good idea for him [Wotton] to stay at the house, rather than being in a hotel. We understood that he would probably stay one or two weeks, then fly back to Hungary. He then said he wanted to come back to England for good. They discussed where he was going to stay, and started looking around at flats.

“They found a flat in Stoke Road, which was retirement living; I lended Andrew £50,000 initially, and after solicitors fees and so on the total was £84,000. He put in £40,000 himself.

“Andrew didn’t want to charge Wotton rent, but asked him to pay the maintenance fee of £300 a month. He wasn’t too keen on that, though.”

The court heard how Mr Avery suggested putting Wotton’s portion of the inheritance from the estate - £20,000 in total - into an investment fund, using the interest to pay the maintenance fee, freeing up his pension to be spent how he pleased.

But Wotton took this as Mr Avery “stealing” his money, and the issue ended up driving a wedge between the two, with the defendant alleging that his nephew “will rip me off”. In a journal, he had written Mr Avery’s name, then annotated it with the word “t***”.

Mr Portlock said: “I imagine the investment would have been in Wotton’s name. It was only a suggestion, and had not advanced any further than that.”

Sarah Jones, defending Wotton, said: “£1,000 had gone to Wotton, but he was entitled to £20,000 in the will. Mr Avery received £50,000 and he only made a few payments out to people.

“He was holding significant amounts of Wotton’s money, and was talking about money he already had possession of.”

Mr Portlock said: “Andrew was murdered - that stopped everything in its tracks.

“He had tried explaining that he was trying to help him, and do the best he could for him, but Wotton didn’t really understand it. Nothing was sprung on him though, he knew about it [moving to the flat] well in advance.”

(Proceeding)