A former Basingstoke coffee merchant whose mother was beaten to death with a marble rolling pin has spoken in court about discovering his mother’s body.
Georgina Edmonds, 77, was found dead at her home in Kiln Lane, Brambridge, in January 11 2008 – leading to one of Hampshire’s most famous unsolved murder cases in the process.
Matthew Hamlen, 36, of Camborne Close in Bishopstoke, is currently standing on trial for the murder for a second time having previously been acquitted of the crime.
A six-week trial began on Tuesday at Winchester Crown Court, with Michael Bowes QC telling the court that the prosecution believed Mrs Edmonds, who was stabbed multiple times, had been tortured for her credit card PIN prior to her death.
Son Harry Edmonds found his mother’s body surrounded by “a pool of blood” at her cottage, situated in the grounds of a larger property owned by the family at Kingfisher Lodge, which he visited each Friday.
Mr Edmonds, who ran coffee merchant The Edmonds Group in Festival Place, had to break in through a window to get inside the cottage after finding the doors locked and the lights all switched off – something he labelled “unusual”.
“At first I thought she must be asleep so I wasn’t overly concerned, but then it occurred to me that she might have had a fall,” he told the court earlier today.
“I called her phone and could hear it tinkling away from outside without an answer, so I lifted up the sash to my mother’s bedroom window and climbed in.
“I made my way to the kitchen and turned on the lights to see her lying face down on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood and a quite substantial large pink dent on the back of her head.”
Mrs Edmonds suffered a fractured skull and several broken ribs during the attack, as well as numerous wounds to her head, abdomen and chest.
The jury also heard how a pair of elasticated trousers that Mrs Edmonds had been wearing at the time of the incident had been pulled down by around five inches to expose her pants, although there is no evidence of a sexual assault taking place.
Mr Edmonds added: “I just wish that I’d left work at lunchtime that day, because then I think things might have been different.
“She was a lovely, interesting, friendly, nice and kind person.”
Mr Hamlen has pleaded not guilty to the murder and the trial continues.