A pensioner from St Helens has admitted killing his "soulmate" with a hammer in what he described as a "mercy killing," but now claims he acted in self-defence, a court has heard. George Gordon, 65, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of the murder of 62-year-old Delia McInerney, whose dismembered body was found in a chest freezer in his flat on Gerards Court in St Helens in January this year.
Ms McInerney, from Anfield, was found alongside her five "beloved" guinea pigs, which Gordon is also alleged to have drowned and frozen. The court heard that Ms McInerney had been killed as long ago as April 2023, having apparently been hit over the head with a hammer. She had been planning to move to Portugal to enjoy a "new life" only days later.
Prosecution opens case
Gordon, who was also known as Chris, bought a sledgehammer and an electric handsaw from eBay in the weeks before Ms McInerney's death, before stealing thousands of pounds from her bank account and taking out a £10,000 loan in her name, the court was told. He went on trial yesterday, Wednesday, accused of her murder.
With Gordon absent from the dock, Martin Reid KC, appearing for the crown, told a jury of five men and seven women, as well as two reserves, during the prosecution's opening: "On the 8th of January this year, the police attended the defendant George Gordon's flat in St Helens. They went there because concerns had been raised by a number of people and agencies about the whereabouts and wellbeing of Delia McInerney."
"Ms McInerney had been friends with the defendant for many years and spent much of her time living at his flat, although she had her own house in Liverpool and property abroad. Ms McInerney's friends had not seen her for some time. The defendant, for over 18 months, lied to them about her whereabouts and sometimes pretended to be Ms McInerney when communicating with her friends by phone messages or email."
"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 the 8th of January 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. The defendant admits that he killed Delia McInerney but claims, we understand, that he acted in self-defence."
Defendant's initial account
Jurors heard that Gordon was taken to Copy Lane Police Station following his arrest, making no comment during his first interview with detectives. A second round of questioning was scheduled for the following day, but he was instead taken to hospital, where he refused his medication, as well as food and water.
Gordon was heard to state during this time: "Recently, I have been arrested for a serious charge. At long last, it's over. My partner died three-and-half years ago. I got home to find she had taken a huge overdose. She was still in a lot of pain when I got there." With Gordon having claimed that Ms McInerney "died in his arms," he then added: "I finished her life myself. She was in agony and held onto me, and I finished it. Three-and-a-half years, I have not mentioned this to anybody."
Gordon was later said to have begun crying while saying "this now has come out at long last," having also "expressed his wish to die in prison." Having subsequently been returned to the police station, he was interviewed again on January 10, although this was "suspended after the defendant started clutching at his chest" and "said he wanted to die, specifically after the passing of his partner."
Gordon claimed that "Delia had wanted her heart to go to Mull in Scotland," to be buried underneath a tree, and said she "wished for her gerbils to be buried along with her, saying she loved them." He also "referred to numerous universities that he had studied at or been involved with, including Cambridge," although investigations later showed that the University of Cambridge "holds no records relating to anyone with the defendant's name and date of birth."
Self-defence claim
Mr Reid continued: "What he did not say was that Ms McInerney attacked him and that he then acted in self-defence, which, as we understand it, is what he now claims. In February 2026, the defendant sent a letter to his cousin, John Lawler. By this point, the defendant was saying, in the letter, that he came home to find Ms McInerney unable to speak, but that when her speech returned he understood that she had taken a massive overdose and that she did not want any intervention."
"He said that she hit the defendant on the head with a hammer, knocking him to the ground. He said that, when he came to, he went for the phone to try to obtain assistance, for her it appears, but she produced a knife, which she held to his throat, before he took the hammer and hit her once, causing her to drop the knife. Not only is this account at odds with the account that he had given in interview, but it is also, the prosecution says, entirely inconsistent with the evidence of Ms McInerney's actions on the final afternoon and evening of her life, the 11th of April 2023."
The court heard that Gordon claimed in interview that he had acted as he did as he "did not wish to dishonour Ms McInerney's memory by saying she attacked him." Mr Reid added: "The crown also understands the defendant's case to be that she cut his shirt and caused a small puncture wound to his stomach. There is no telephone data to suggest that the defendant travelled to Blackpool on either the 11th or 12th of April, nor are there any photographs documenting injuries to any person, including the defendant, from around these dates."
"The crown's case is that this was neither a mercy killing, as he had originally claimed, nor was the defendant acting in self-defence. The crown says that his actions after Ms McInerney's death, including the changing account that he gave to the police and others, demonstrate that he was concerned only with covering up his own wrongdoing, rather than honouring her memory, as he suggested. Given the timing of the offences and the defendant's conduct before and afterwards, the crown says that the defendant's attack on Ms McInerney was motivated, at least in part, by financial gain and his fear that she would be leaving the UK imminently to live permanently in Portugal just a few days later."
Gordon, who is represented by Gordon Cole KC and Philip Tully, denies murder and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal after allegedly drowning five guinea pigs. The trial, before Mr Justice Goose, continues and is expected to last for up to six weeks.
