George Gordon, 65, allegedly murdered his artist companion Delia McInerney and stored her dismembered remains in a chest freezer alongside her pet guinea pigs for nearly three years, while fraudulently obtaining credit cards and loans in her name, Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday.
Ms McInerney, who was 62 at the time of her death, resided with Gordon at his flat in St Helens, Merseyside, when she was not travelling overseas or staying at her home in Anfield, Liverpool. She had been due to emigrate to Portugal days after her death to begin a new life.
Body Discovered in Chest Freezer
Prosecuting counsel Martin Reid KC informed the jury that Ms McInerney's remains were discovered by officers in a chest freezer at Gordon's flat in Gerards Court on January 8 this year. Following her death, Gordon impersonated his alleged victim in messages and emails sent to her friends.
Mr Reid 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 but Claims Self-Defence
Gordon, who was absent from 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 maintains he acted in self-defence, Mr Reid stated.
The court was informed Ms McInerney, who had worries about 5G phone masts near her home in Anfield, had been scheduled to relocate to Portugal with her guinea pigs in April 2023. Upon learning of her plans to move abroad, Gordon purchased 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 stated.
Guinea Pigs Died by Drowning
He also collected prescriptions for medications subsequently discovered in her system. On 11 April, Gordon recorded a video of Ms McInerney with her guinea pigs which was to be the final footage in which she was seen alive. Mr Reid stated: "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 of the guinea pigs revealed they died by drowning, the jury was informed. Gordon, who was known as Chris to his victim and their friends, is accused of murdering his friend on the evening of 11 April or in the early hours of 12 April.
Financial Trail and Arrest
Later on 12 April, more than £2,000 was transferred from Ms McInerney's bank accounts to Gordon. The court was told he then visited 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 gone to the King's coronation in May 2023 with Gordon, where she claimed they had met Dame Joanna Lumley and Sir Stephen Fry in 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 informed the court that Gordon's "web of lies" began to unravel in December 2025 following a request submitted to the Department of Work and Pensions by an individual identifying themselves as Chris Cavendish-Gordon, purporting to be a social worker, requesting that Ms McInerney's personal independence payment (PIP) be redirected to an alternative account.
The jury heard that following telephone enquiries and financial investigations, Gordon was apprehended at his flat on January 8 and, as he was escorted out, told officers "she's in there" and added "she's in the freezer". Gordon denies murder and causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
