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| Man accused of Becky Godden murder blames suspected drug dealers | Man accused of Becky Godden murder blames suspected drug dealers |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A taxi driver accused of murdering a young woman and burying her body in a field has blamed the killing on two suspected drug dealers he says he used to ferry around. | |
| Christopher Halliwell, who denies killing sex worker Becky Godden, said he had driven the two men to the field in Gloucestershire after they told him they needed to “get rid of something”. | Christopher Halliwell, who denies killing sex worker Becky Godden, said he had driven the two men to the field in Gloucestershire after they told him they needed to “get rid of something”. |
| He said he did not ask any questions and assumed the men, whom he did not name, were hiding drugs, money or weapons. | He said he did not ask any questions and assumed the men, whom he did not name, were hiding drugs, money or weapons. |
| Halliwell, 52, is serving life for the murder of Sian O’Callaghan, 22, who went missing from a nightclub in Swindon in 2011. | Halliwell, 52, is serving life for the murder of Sian O’Callaghan, 22, who went missing from a nightclub in Swindon in 2011. |
| After he was arrested over O’Callaghan’s disappearance, he accompanied police to a field in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, and allegedly guided them to the spot where the remains of Godden, who vanished aged 20 in 2003, were found. | After he was arrested over O’Callaghan’s disappearance, he accompanied police to a field in Eastleach, Gloucestershire, and allegedly guided them to the spot where the remains of Godden, who vanished aged 20 in 2003, were found. |
| At the start of his defence at Bristol crown court, Halliwell, who is representing himself, said he had no need to lie as he was already in prison and had no real chance of being freed. | At the start of his defence at Bristol crown court, Halliwell, who is representing himself, said he had no need to lie as he was already in prison and had no real chance of being freed. |
| He said: “I want to start by saying I am telling the truth. I have no reason to lie ... I have no real prospect of getting out and I deserve every day anyway. What happened between me and Sian – my actions were brutal. What I put Sian’s family through was inhuman. | He said: “I want to start by saying I am telling the truth. I have no reason to lie ... I have no real prospect of getting out and I deserve every day anyway. What happened between me and Sian – my actions were brutal. What I put Sian’s family through was inhuman. |
| “Whether I get out or not is irrelevant; whether you the jury find me guilty or not guilty doesn’t matter. I come here to tell the truth. I already said ... you won’t like what you are going to hear.” | “Whether I get out or not is irrelevant; whether you the jury find me guilty or not guilty doesn’t matter. I come here to tell the truth. I already said ... you won’t like what you are going to hear.” |
| Halliwell said that over three years, from 2001, he would drive two men around Swindon and be paid from a wad of cash kept in a holdall. He was often given £100 for a £25 fare, he claimed. | Halliwell said that over three years, from 2001, he would drive two men around Swindon and be paid from a wad of cash kept in a holdall. He was often given £100 for a £25 fare, he claimed. |
| “I never asked any questions – I didn’t want to know.” Halliwell said. “I am a taxi driver and I was turning a blind eye. That’s their business. It may be morally wrong but it wasn’t my place to judge someone.” | “I never asked any questions – I didn’t want to know.” Halliwell said. “I am a taxi driver and I was turning a blind eye. That’s their business. It may be morally wrong but it wasn’t my place to judge someone.” |
| Halliwell said he got a pay-as-you-go mobile phone so the two men were able to contact him directly to arrange pick-ups. “It was apparent what they were actually doing, delivering large amounts of class A drugs. I commented on the amounts they were paying me and they said it was chicken feed.” | Halliwell said he got a pay-as-you-go mobile phone so the two men were able to contact him directly to arrange pick-ups. “It was apparent what they were actually doing, delivering large amounts of class A drugs. I commented on the amounts they were paying me and they said it was chicken feed.” |
| The defendant said that in March 2003 he received a phone call from the men. “They said something has gone wrong and they needed to get rid of something,” he told the court. | The defendant said that in March 2003 he received a phone call from the men. “They said something has gone wrong and they needed to get rid of something,” he told the court. |
| “I was under the impression it was temporary and they said as much and in a few weeks they would recover whatever they would get rid of and hiding. I took them to Eastleach. | “I was under the impression it was temporary and they said as much and in a few weeks they would recover whatever they would get rid of and hiding. I took them to Eastleach. |
| “When I picked them up, one of them opened the boot and they put a large sports bag in the boot. I didn’t ask any questions. I assumed it was either drugs, money, possibly weapons.” | “When I picked them up, one of them opened the boot and they put a large sports bag in the boot. I didn’t ask any questions. I assumed it was either drugs, money, possibly weapons.” |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |