A man who bludgeoned his stepdaughter before stabbing her and her husband to death is facing a life sentence after being convicted of their murders.
Derek Martin, 67, 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.
Today, Martin of Moulsecoomb, Brighton, was found guilty by a jury at Brighton Law Courts after five and a half hours of deliberation.
The families of both victims gasped as the jury foreperson pronounced Martin guilty of both charges of murder. The defendant showed no emotion.
The court previously heard how he grabbed a hammer to attack his stepdaughter before stabbing her as she lay helplessly.
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Martin then waited for her husband, Josh, to return home at lunch before chasing him upstairs and stabbing him four times before strangling him to death with a belt.
The grandfather attempted to clear up the carnage before calmly picking up their four children from school, taking them to McDonald’s, dropping them at their grandmother’s and turning himself into the police.
Although he admitted killing the couple, he claimed he had been suffering from a serious mental disorder at the time and denied murdering them.
The court heard Martin had previously been married to Chloe’s mother, Elaine Sturges, but they had separated and divorced before Chloe was born.
However, after a spell in prison for burglary, Martin had apparently turned over a new leaf and had formed a close bond with the family again.
He liked to help out with chores around Chloe’s home in Newhaven, East Sussex, even carrying out DIY tasks and decorating.
Brighton Law Courts heard Martin had lent Chloe around £1,500 to help her and Josh buy a new car and to carry out home improvements.
She was supposed to be paying him back on a monthly basis, but had fallen behind with payments.
On the morning of June 9, Martin dropped off the two youngest children, Josh Jnr, five, and Mila, seven, at school before taking Chloe for breakfast at a carvery near her home.
The jury heard that in the months leading up to the killings Martin, who had a history of depression and suicide attempts, had stopped taking his medication and had not been sleeping.
He had been staying up and only getting around one or two hours sleep a night before going round to help at his stepdaughter’s home.
Martin admitted killing the couple but denied murder saying he was suffering from a psychiatric condition at the time.
Three psychiatric experts said Martin may have been suffering fro a depressive disorder and concluded that the partial defence of diminished responsibility could be available in that it contributed to an ‘abnormality of mental functioning’.
The experts said this may have affected his ability to form a rational judgment and/or exercise self-control.
However Professor Nigel Blackwood, a psychiatric consultant, told the court ‘rage and resentment’ had driven Martin to murder the married couple.
He told the jury: ‘His state of rage when he is engaged in killing Chloe simply carries over into his assault of Mr Bashford. It’s not just a sudden assault in a brief moment of anger. It’s sustained.’
Prof Blackwood said: ‘His ability to understand his conduct or exercise self-control was not impaired’.
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