A man murdered his artist "soulmate" and kept her dismembered body in a freezer with her pet guinea pigs for almost three years, a court has heard.
George Gordon, 65, is accused of killing his friend Delia McInerney, 62, in April 2023 - days before she was due to move to Portugal for a "new life", Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday.
The court heard Ms McInerney stayed with Gordon at his flat in St Helens, Merseyside, when she was not travelling abroad or staying at her house in Anfield, Liverpool.
Body found in chest freezer
Martin Reid KC, prosecuting, told the jury that Ms McInerney's body was found by police in a chest freezer at Gordon's flat in Gerards Court on January 8 this year. He said that after her death, Gordon posed as Ms McInerney in messages and emails to her friends.
He told the jury: "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."
Defendant admits killing
Gordon, who did not appear in the dock, admits killing Ms McInerney, who was described by a relative as the defendant's "soulmate".
Gordon initially told police he had hit her with a hammer to "end her suffering" after she had taken an overdose, but now claims he acted in self-defence, Mr Reid said.
The court heard Ms McInerney had been due to move to Portugal with her guinea pigs in April 2023.
Purchase of tools and loans
After hearing of her plans to relocate, Gordon bought a sledgehammer, a handsaw and other items, 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 later found in her system, the court was told.
The prosecutor said Ms McInerney's five guinea pigs would go on to "meet the same fate as their owner". Examinations of the animals showed they died by drowning, the jury heard.
Timeline after the killing
Gordon, who was known as Chris to his victim and their friends, is accused of murdering his friend on the evening of April 11 or in the early hours of April 12. Later on April 12, more than £2,000 was sent 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 said Gordon, who travelled to Portugal on April 24 and visited the property Ms McInerney owned there, posed as his victim in messages to her friends and neighbours. He told some of her friends that she had fallen ill.
Arrest and charges
He told the court that Gordon's "web of lies" began to unravel in December 2025 after someone called Chris Cavendish-Gordon, who claimed to be a social worker, contacted the Department of Work and Pensions, asking for Ms McInerney's personal independence payment (PIP) to be transferred to a different account.
Gordon was arrested at his flat on January 8. The jury was told that as he was escorted out, he told officers: "She's in there" and "She's in the freezer".
Gordon denies murder and causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
