Exclusive:'Short-tempered' pensioner told police his nephew was not 'man enough' after stabbing him 11 times, jury told

A “confrontational” pensioner told police that his nephew “wasn’t man enough” after overpowering him with a knife.

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.

The jury was was shown bodycam footage from that evening, when emergency services arrived at the address. Wotton told firefighters that Mr Avery had produced a kitchen knife and “gone at him”, before the defendant took the blade and “turned it on him, the b******.”

Jodie Mittell KC, prosecuting, said: “Wotton makes a comment about Mr Avery not being ‘man enough’, and how he hit him in the mouth before finishing him off. He tells paramedics that they argued about money, and makes the accusation of Mr Avery stealing his money.

“He said he started the fire to ‘cover up’ what he had done.”

Mr Avery was stabbed 11 times, with three wounds in his chest, four in his abdomen, and a further four in his left leg. Despite efforts from emregency services, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Upon being arrested by police, Wotton asked officers “so I can’t even defend myself then?” before asking where the ambulance was coming from. He was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, spending a few days being treated for smoke inhalation, before being returned to police custody on December 2.

Ms Mittell added: “The way Wotton put it was that he was ‘winning’ the fight, when he stabbed his nephew a number of times. When asked by police why he stabbed him, he said it was to ‘shut him up’.

“He was asked if he intended to kill him and said ‘probably, yes’. He described setting fire to the house so that ‘nobody got any bloody money’.

“He was the one who took the knife and repeatedly stabbed his nephew. He then claimed he needed to act in self-defence - but even in his account he said he had control of the knife pretty quickly, and that he was winning the fight. Stabbing an unarmed person 11 times goes far beyond reasonable self-defence.”

Evaluations from two independent psychiatrists found Wotton to be aloof, emotionally detached, narcissistic and a confrontational character.

Sarah Jones KC, defending Wotton, told the jury that those two psychiatrists also diagnosed him with a delusional disorder.

She said: “The defendant accepts that he killed his nephew, and after he had done so, set fire to the house. He’s not trying to hide from that reality.

“He was about to be attacked by his nephew, in the house that was the subject of their dispute. He turned the knife on his nephew and that’s how he came to be injured. That’s his primary defence.

“The secondary defence us that he’s been assessed by independent experts, who both agree he has a delusional disorder. Where that substantially affects his ability to make rational judgement calls, there is a defence to murder - by diminished responsibility.”

(Proceeding)