George Gordon, 65, is accused of murdering his friend Delia McInerney in April 2023, days before she was due to move to Portugal, and keeping her dismembered body in a chest freezer for nearly three years, a court has heard.
Liverpool Crown Court was told that Gordon allegedly killed Ms McInerney, 62, who divided her time between her home in Anfield, Liverpool, travelling abroad and staying at Gordon's flat in St Helens, Merseyside. Martin Reid KC, prosecuting, said police discovered her dismembered body in a chest freezer at Gordon's flat in Gerards Court on January 8 this year.
Prosecution alleges fraud and impersonation
Mr Reid told the jury that following her death, Gordon impersonated his alleged victim in messages and emails sent to her friends. He said: "Unbeknown to them, but known very well to the defendant, Delia McInerney had died in April 2023, at the defendant's hands."
"Her dismembered body was found in a chest freezer in the defendant's flat on January 8 this year. In the meantime, the defendant fraudulently obtained thousands of pounds from her bank accounts, and obtained a loan and credit cards in her name."
Gordon, who did not appear in the dock, admits killing Ms McInerney, described by a relative as his "soulmate", but initially claimed to police that he had struck her with a hammer to "end her suffering" after she had taken an overdose. He now claims he acted in self-defence, Mr Reid said.
Planned move to Portugal
The court heard that Ms McInerney, who had concerns about 5G phone masts close to her home in Anfield, had been planning to relocate to Portugal with her guinea pigs in April 2023. Upon learning of her intention to move abroad, Gordon purchased several items, including a sledgehammer and a handsaw, which were "consistent with those that would later be used, or required, to kill and dismember Ms McInerney", Mr Reid said.
He also collected prescriptions for medications that were subsequently found in her system, the court was told. On April 11, Gordon filmed Ms McInerney with her guinea pigs, footage that would prove to be the last recording in which she appeared alive.
Mr Reid said: "These, the Crown says, are the same five guinea pigs that Ms McInerney was planning to take to Portugal just two days later, and of which she was so fond. They were, the prosecution says, to meet the same fate as their owner Ms McInerney." Post-mortem examinations of the guinea pigs revealed they had died by drowning, the jury heard.
Financial transactions and arrest
Gordon, known to his victim and their mutual friends as Chris, stands accused of murdering his friend on the evening of April 11 or during the early hours of April 12. Later on April 12, more than £2,000 was transferred from Ms McInerney's bank accounts to Gordon, the jury was told.
The court heard he then went to The Sefton Pub for breakfast, accompanied by a pint of Strongbow and a double whisky, before ordering a chest freezer from Amazon. Mr Reid stated that Gordon, who travelled to Portugal on April 24 and visited the property owned by Ms McInerney there, impersonated his victim in messages sent to her friends and neighbours.
He informed some of her friends that she had fallen ill, while others were told she had attended the King's coronation in May 2023 with Gordon, during which she claimed they had encountered Dame Joanna Lumley and Sir Stephen Fry at Westminster Abbey. Mr Reid said: "This ridiculous account would almost be amusing were it not for the knowledge that all this time, rather than meeting famous actors at the King's coronation, Ms McInerney's body was lying in a chest freezer in the defendant's flat in St Helens."
He told the court that Gordon's "web of lies" began to unravel in December 2025 following a request made to the Department of Work and Pensions by an individual identifying himself as Chris Cavendish-Gordon, who claimed to be a social worker and sought to have Ms McInerney's personal independence payment (PIP) redirected to a different account. The jury heard that following telephone enquiries and financial checks, Gordon was arrested at his flat on January 8 and, as he was led out, told officers "she's in there" before adding "she's in the freezer". Gordon denies murder and causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
