A man stabbed his lover through the heart and left his body to decompose in a flat at Clayton-le-Moors, it has been claimed.
It is alleged that David Fielding killed 27-year-old James Todd and over the following three weeks visited various relatives and friends around the country. At one stage the defendant even returned to the flat on Rutland Close to collect some property, still without telling anyone what he had allegedly done.
Twenty-five-year-old Fielding has gone on trial at Preston Crown Court where he denies a charge of murdering Mr Todd last September. The badly decomposed body of the chef was found at his flat in late September.
Opening the case for the Crown, Mr Dennis Watson QC said the two men had spent the evening of September 5th with each other at a local pub before returning to the flat. There, Fielding is alleged to have taken hold of a kitchen knife and stabbed him through the heart.
The prosecution said the two men were lovers, but had fallen out with each other and were about to split up.
Mr Todd's body was found on the bedroom floor when police gained entry to the flat on September 27. The deceased had to be identified by his fingerprints. A post mortem showed that he died from a stab wound to the heart from which he could not have survived.
Mr Watson alleged that after Mr Todd died, Fielding travelled around the country, visiting various relatives and friends. He is alleged to have used the deceased's bank card and mobile phone and it is claimed he told a series of lies to those who asked about Mr Todd and his whereabouts.
The two men had earlier been in a relationship for over a year and began living together at Mr Todd's Rutland Close flat at one point. From time to time, they came to the attention of their neighbours because they argued.
During the investigation that followed the discovery of the body, police examined mobile phones belonging to both men.
A recording was found, thought to have been made up to two and a half weeks before the alleged murder, in which Mr Todd said he had given the defendant money to buy items for the flat, but he had spent the money on something else. He told Fielding to get out of the flat. The defendant was asking him "do you love me?" and threatened to empty the flat of everything.
After September 5, the defendant was referring to Mr Todd as his ex.
"The end of the relationship may well have been the motive for the defendant attacking James Todd", alleged Mr Watson.
The defendant got a train to London and ended up making his way to Folkestone where he stayed several days with a relative. Fielding appeared a "mess", dirty and scruffy and spoke of having fallen down an embankment. The relative washed his clothes, some of which appeared to have blood on, it is claimed.
Also in September, Fielding is said to have gone to the flat alone to remove a storage box containing a computer. A companion noticed a very strong smell when this was placed into his waiting vehicle. Fielding said some fruit had gone off. The prosecution say the smell had been caused by Mr Todd's body decomposing.
Afterwards, the car was washed and air fresheners used to try and get rid of the smell. It is also claimed that Fielding closed Mr Todd's Facebook account.
By September 27, the landlord had received a number of complaints about the smell from the flat. The police went on to gain entry.
The defendant said nothing in police interview. In a defence statement he said his last memory of the other man was him saying he was going on a bender to Manchester. The trial continues.
