A man is accused of murdering his friend and concealing her dismembered body in a chest freezer alongside her five pet guinea pigs for nearly three years, while allegedly using her identity to obtain credit cards and loans.
George Gordon, 65, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, charged with killing Delia McInerney in April 2023, just days before she was due to move to Portugal for a "new life". Ms McInerney, who was 62 at the time of her death, would stay at Gordon's flat in St Helens, Merseyside, between her travels and visits to her Anfield home in Liverpool.
Discovery of the Body
Martin Reid KC, prosecuting, told the jury that officers found Ms McInerney's remains inside a chest freezer at Gordon's residence in Gerards Court on January 8 this year. Following her death, Gordon allegedly impersonated his victim through messages and emails sent to her friends.
Mr Reid addressed 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."
Alleged Events Leading to Death
Gordon, who was absent from the dock, acknowledges killing Ms McInerney, whom a family member described as his "soulmate", but initially claimed to officers he had struck her with a hammer to "end her suffering" following an overdose. He now maintains he was acting in self-defence, Mr Reid said.
The jury heard Ms McInerney, who harboured worries about 5G phone masts near her Anfield residence, had been preparing to relocate to Portugal with her guinea pigs in April 2023. Upon learning of her intentions, Gordon purchased various 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", according to Mr Reid.
He also collected prescriptions for medications subsequently discovered in her system. On April 11, Gordon recorded footage of Ms McInerney with her guinea pigs, which would prove to be the final video showing her alive.
Mr Reid explained: "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." Examinations revealed the guinea pigs died by drowning, the jury was told.
Fraud and Arrest
Gordon, who went by Chris among his victim and their mutual acquaintances, is accused of murdering his friend on the evening of April 11 or during the early morning hours of April 12. Later that day, over £2,000 was transferred from Ms McInerney's bank accounts to Gordon.
The court was told he subsequently visited The Sefton Pub for breakfast, washed down with a pint of Strongbow and a double whisky, before purchasing a chest freezer from Amazon. Mr Reid revealed that Gordon, who flew to Portugal on April 24 and went to the property Ms McInerney owned there, impersonated his victim in communications to her friends and neighbours. He informed some friends she had fallen ill, while others were told she had attended the King's coronation in May 2023 with Gordon, where they purportedly encountered Dame Joanna Lumley and Sir Stephen Fry in Westminster Abbey.
Mr Reid stated: "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."
Gordon's "web of lies" started to fall apart in December 2025 following a request made to the Department of Work and Pensions by someone calling themselves Chris Cavendish-Gordon, who pretended to be a social worker, requesting that Ms McInerney's personal independence payment (PIP) be moved to a different account. After telephone enquiries and financial investigations, Gordon was arrested at his flat on January 8 and, as he was led out, told officers "she's in there" and added "she's in the freezer".
Gordon denies murder and causing unnecessary suffering to animals. The trial continues.
