Bournemouth man guilty of murdering lodger and cutting up body

Simon Shotton's remains were scattered around Bournemouth

A man has been found guilty of murdering his lodger before scattering his severed body parts in packages and a suitcase.

Benjamin Atkins, 49, killed Simon Shotton, of the same age, at their home in Bournemouth in August 2023 following a dispute over money, prosecutors said.

Atkins' partner, Debbie Pereira, 39, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

They are due to be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on 26 July.

Warning: This story contains graphic details which readers may find upsetting

Mr Shotton's legs were disposed of on the Manor Steps Zig Zag footpath at Boscombe seafront in August 2023.

The trial was told how a member of the public was sheltering under a tree when a package containing the human remains landed beside her.

Benjamin Atkins killed his lodger over a minor financial dispute, prosecutors said

In September, the victim's arms were found in the couple's garden in Aylesbury Road and his torso was discovered in a suitcase at Boscombe Chine Gardens.

Police said skull fragments were also found in Walpole Lane in February 2024.

Giving evidence, Atkins claimed he killed Mr Shotton in self-defence, using the end of a hairbrush and beating him with a loudspeaker, after the lodger threatened him with a knife.

The father of two told the court: "If I wasn't under the influence [of drugs], I wouldn't have cut him up.

"I was scared, I was traumatised, I was panicked, I was under extreme stress."

Debbie Pereira's arrest was captured on a police body-worn camera

Atkins was recorded in a police van telling his girlfriend he would kill again, the court heard.

The defendant said: "I'll look 'em straight in the eye and say: 'Yeah. I'd do it again and again and again. If you let me go today, I'd find another one and do it again.'

"'Drug dealers and pushers. Kill, decapitate, and eat the [expletive term]."

Atkins admitted going with Pereira after the murder to sell Mr Shotton's phone at a Cash Creators shop.

He then cut up Mr Shotton's body with a saw in a makeshift tent in the garden before burning the victim's head in a fire, the court heard.

Pereira cleaned their house with bleach to remove traces of the crime, prosecutors said.

The pair were caught on CCTV walking with a hacksaw in Atkins' hand

Kirsty Gordon, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This was a truly disturbing case which shocked the residents of Bournemouth and its surrounding towns.

"Atkins and Pereira's cruelty and lack of humanity is laid bare. After Mr Shotton was murdered by Atkins in cold blood over a minor dispute, they robbed him of the dignity of a proper burial."

Pereira, who was acquitted of murder, previously pleaded guilty to preventing the burial of a corpse.

Atkins previously admitted preventing the burial and perverting the course of justice.