Bournemouth body parts murder

It was believed that the murder had been carried out due to Atkins not being happy with the amount of drugs that Shotton had or was providing to the couple in exchange for a place to stay.

[3] In April 2020, Suffolk Constabulary attended his address in Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, locating 188 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine.

[5] Having moved to Bournemouth, Shotton stayed at the derelict remains of the Mon Bijou Hotel on Manor Road,[8] which had been boarded up for approximately 10 years.

Another person visiting Aylesbury Road stated that he noticed … a lot of people who I didn't recognise; messy clothes, scruffy appearances, were coming in and out.

She didn't know where Shotton was staying, but thought that he appeared frightened and told him that if he felt uncomfortable to pretend he was going to the shop and to leave his belongings at the address.

At 06:50 BST on 18 August, Atkins was seen on CCTV pushing a wheelbarrow (which he had taken from the corner of a driveway of a house they were walking past), with Pereira cycling alongside him, along Christchurch Road, through Boscombe, towards their home address.

[9] Atkins told Pereira to go into the utility room and tell Shotton that as soon as Cash Creators opened, they were going to sell items to attempt to give him his money back.

[9][18] Meanwhile, according to Atkins, he grabbed the knife and tussled with Shotton, using a hair brush he had purchased from Primark to hit him around the collar bone, hearing it snap.

[1][2][6] An hour after Shotton's last message, Atkins[c] was seen on CCTV to walk across Boscombe Crescent from Aylesbury Road, appearing to be carrying a bin bag or sack, with something rectangular within it.

[6] Having left Cash Creators at approximately 13:00 BST, Atkins and Pereira were captured on various CCTV cameras to walk back along Christchurch Road towards Pokesdown, away from their address.

Atkins continues into the shopping area in Boscombe, whilst Pereira appeared to turn back, alone, returning to the address, as they had forgotten a crack pipe.

[1][2][18][16] Both on bikes, shortly after 17:00, they re-attended Cash Creators, where Pereira sold Shotton's rose gold coloured iPhone SE for £15 at 17:15 BST.

Late at night, Atkins ensured that Pereira was fast asleep, before he left the address, wheeling the suitcase to Boscombe Chine Gardens, before disposing of it in a bush.

[1][2] Around 15 minutes later, the woman walked back down the zig-zag, and saw the package again, thinking that it had been moved and that the grey masking tape that was around it looked loose.

[1][2][28][3] The forensic examination also located Shotton's blood that had collected in a pool, having seeped over the edge of the linoleum in the address' utility room, as well as the concrete underneath.

According to a scientific expert who conducted blood pattern analysis at the address, cleaning chemicals can break down biological material, cells and completely remove DNA.

[1][2][19] En-route to the court, Atkins and Pereira, who were placed in the same police van, which featured a covert listening device, had their conversations recorded.

She added that Atkins had gone to the Manor Steps zig zag and put packages containing Shotton's legs there, placing them near the footpath where someone would find them, due to them being decomposed.

[19][30] When asked what she knew, had seen and what she'd done in recent weeks, Pereira told police that she had in fact been out, had been meeting Shotton and that he had been staying with her and Atkins, admitting to lying about what she had said in previous interviews.

[19][30] Pereira changed her account again, stating that the last time she saw Shotton was in the living room, where Atkins had begun to shout at him for not giving enough drugs.

She denied any involvement in Shotton's death or the dismemberment or concealment of his body, later adding that she hadn't witnessed or played any part in this, including storing or disposing of his remains.

[1][2][19] Pereira added that on that day, Atkins had purchased bin liners to clear the garden and tape for him to use whilst painting the utility room.

[19] Police referred to texts from Shotton's mobile in which he had arranged with friends to stay elsehwere, implying that he didn't want Atkins and Pereira to know he was going.

[1][2][33][11][21] Having discovered the further remains of Shotton, police appealed to the public as to anyone who had seen someone with a black suitcase or anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area between 18 August and 1 September.

These took place at various times (due to Shotton's remains being located over various weeks and months), with Dr Cook's final report being prepared on 27 October 2023.

Samples were also taken from the suitcases, packages and tape that had been used to conceal the body parts, with Dr Cook having attended the scene of where Shotton's legs were discovered.

[1][2][28][11][21][15][13] Dr Cook found that the loss of skin and maggots around Shotton's left leg was 'natural with decomposition', indicating that an amputation hadn't occurred the day before.

[15][13] Dr Cook established that the decapitation wound started from the front around to the back and was 'not a single clean path of the knife', therefore meaning it would not have been 'just one cut'.

[21] Shotton's right femur, that was attached to his torso, had a series of grooves in several directions, indicating ten partial attempts to cut through the bone.

On 20 October 2023, at a first full hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court, Atkins made what was described as a 'clear and unambiguous' admission that he was responsible for killing Shotton, as well as dismembering and disposing of his body parts.