Gorleston murder trial hears Allan Scott killed and burnt Patricia Holland

The remains of Patricia Holland, 83, were found in the garden of her home in Gorleston-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth

A "charitable" woman was murdered and her body burnt by a homeless man she had taken in, after she asked him to leave the house, a court heard.

Allan Scott, 42, had been "offered... a roof over his head" by "kind hearted" Patricia Holland, 83, at her home in Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk.

She was last seen alive on 24 July 2021, and it is alleged Mr Scott killed her between then and 25 July.

He denies murder and is on trial at Norwich Crown Court.

Opening the prosecution case, David Spens KC, said Mrs Holland was a "charitable woman concerned with people who were down on their luck, and the homeless".

He said that Mr Scott was homeless and Mrs Holland "offered him a roof over his head" at her home in Lowestoft Road.

Patricia Holland had taken Mr Scott into her home in Lowestoft Road in Gorleston-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth

The court heard she took him in and he was lodging there by March 2020, but before long he became aggressive towards her and eventually she wanted him to leave.

"Often he was the worse for drink," Mr Spens said.

"On occasions he became violent towards her and... he became controlling of her.

"By the time a year or so had passed, by May or June 2021, if not before, Mrs Holland wanted him out of her home."

He said the terms of her will meant that if she died, Mr Scott would be evicted, "so he thought his best chance of being able to stay in her house was if she went missing".

Mr Spens said: "The prosecution case is he violently attacked her on 24 July into 25 July 2021, and burned her body on a bonfire in her back garden in an attempt to destroy all traces of her.

"He did that, we say, so he could pretend she had gone missing, knowing full well that the little that remained of her after the fire he had set lay buried in her back garden.

"When the police found her burnt and charred body there was so little of it left it wasn't possible to discover the cause of her death," said Mr Spens.

"Although it's likely she was already dead when he threw her on the bonfire, one would hope she was already dead, the available evidence doesn't show whether she was indeed dead when he did throw her."

In court, the prosecution said it had not been possible to determine whether the victim was dead when she was put on the bonfire

He said Mrs Holland used a walking frame and was "frail", but had no underlying health problems.

"Friends describe Mrs Holland as having a heart of gold and always happy; neighbours describe her as a lovely kind-hearted woman," he told the court.

The jury was told that while Mr Scott denies murder, he had pleaded guilty to the offence of unlawfully preventing a burial.

The trial, expected to last for three weeks, continues.