Man ‘stabbed stepdaughter and her husband to death’ after ‘losing it’

A man who stabbed his stepdaughter and husband at their East Sussex home ‘lost it’ before the two parents died.

Derek Martin, 67, has denied murder but admitted the manslaughter of parents-of-four Josh, 33, and Chloe Bashford, 30, who were found dead at their home in Newhaven on June 9, 2023.

Jurors at Brighton Law Courts today heard there is ‘no dispute’ about whether Martin killed the couple, but he claims diminished responsibility, arguing that he was suffering an ‘abnormality of mental functioning’.

Martin and Mrs Bashford had spent the morning together before he attacked her with a hammer and stabbed her eight times just after midday.

Martin then ambushed Mr Bashford, who had been driving home from work, before stabbing and ligaturing him in an upstairs bedroom.

The attacks came hours after Martin met their four children at a coffee shop and dropped them at their grandmother’s house, before turning himself in at Brighton police station.

Prosecutor Julian Evans said: ‘At about 12:16, just after a quarter past midday, Derek Martin attacked Chloe with a hammer. He hit her with the hammer on the top of her head.

‘Then he went to the kitchen to retrieve a large knife, and having done so, he then repeatedly stabbed Chloe with that knife, causing severe injuries from which she died.

‘He then attacked Josh with a knife and compressed his neck with a ligature, causing injuries from which he too died.’

The court heard Martin removed the handles from the bedroom doors where the bodies were lying, changed his clothes, and took the doorbell camera off the front door.

He then collected the youngest children from school and drove them to the Costa Coffee in Peacehaven, where he met the other children.

Martin also disposed of Mrs Bashford’s phone and, dropping off the children, he went into the police station and said: ‘I’ve murdered two people.’

While Martin was not still in a relationship with Mrs Bashford’s mother, he had stayed ‘close friends’ with his stepdaughter, and she referred to him in a text that day to a friend.

Mrs Bashford’s eldest son said Martin was a ‘grandfather figure’ who was easy to be around, but mentioned his ‘bad temper’.

Martin first admitted being responsible for the killings in a police interview on June 10, 2023.

‘He said that he felt he was getting ‘used’ all of the time. He could not do enough for people, and he had got into a lot of debt himself as well,’ Mr Evans said.

‘Then he said that he ‘just lost it’ and he ‘just flipped’. He hit Chloe on the head with the hammer. He did not know what had happened.’

Five psychiatrists are trying to assess if Martin can use the diminished responsibility defence in court.

All have said Martin was suffering from a ‘depressive disorder’ during the attacks, but the severity of it is facing scrutiny.

The trial continues and is due to last three weeks.

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