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Man claims self-defence after admitting killing Oxford antiques dealer Man claims self-defence after admitting killing Oxford antiques dealer
(35 minutes later)
A man has admitted killing an antiques dealer at his home in Oxford, but said he was defending himself after the man suddenly attacked him with a knife when he made a bad joke.A man has admitted killing an antiques dealer at his home in Oxford, but said he was defending himself after the man suddenly attacked him with a knife when he made a bad joke.
Michael Danaher, 50, is accused of murdering Adrian Greenwood on 6 April after drawing up a list of robbery and kidnap targets on which the dealer featured alongside celebrities and wealthy businessmen. A jury at Oxford crown court has heard that Greenwood died as a result of more than 30 knife wounds and multiple blunt force injuries.Michael Danaher, 50, is accused of murdering Adrian Greenwood on 6 April after drawing up a list of robbery and kidnap targets on which the dealer featured alongside celebrities and wealthy businessmen. A jury at Oxford crown court has heard that Greenwood died as a result of more than 30 knife wounds and multiple blunt force injuries.
Danaher, from Peterborough, told the court that he was responsible for Greenwood’s death, but denied he had murdered him or had gone to his home intending to rob him of a £50,000 first edition of The Wind in the Willows, which the dead man had listed for sale on eBay eight months earlier.Danaher, from Peterborough, told the court that he was responsible for Greenwood’s death, but denied he had murdered him or had gone to his home intending to rob him of a £50,000 first edition of The Wind in the Willows, which the dead man had listed for sale on eBay eight months earlier.
Rather, he said, he had gone to Greenwood’s home to discuss buying cheap secondhand books. After an “interesting conversation”, Danaher said he made a limp joke about another man whom the dealer had been expecting – “’Call it wit ...’ I said to him, ‘Oh, they must have known I was coming.’” – at which point he said the dealer had suddenly called him an “obese tosser” and shoved him like “the angriest man in Britain”. Rather, he said, he had gone to Greenwood’s home to discuss buying cheap secondhand books. After an “interesting conversation”, Danaher said he made a limp joke about another man whom the dealer had been expecting at which point he said the dealer had suddenly called him an “obese tosser” and shoved him like “the angriest man in Britain”.
He had wrestled with Greenwood on the floor of his hallway in an attempt to defend himself, he told the jury, before the other man “just stopped” and lay motionless on the floor.He had wrestled with Greenwood on the floor of his hallway in an attempt to defend himself, he told the jury, before the other man “just stopped” and lay motionless on the floor.
He told Amjad Malik QC, defending: “My jokes are not necessarily funny but I have never had that effect on anyone.”He told Amjad Malik QC, defending: “My jokes are not necessarily funny but I have never had that effect on anyone.”
Danaher said he was unsure if Greenwood was alive or dead but after catching his breath he had decided to rob him of a number of items including the copy of The Wind in the Willows, a camera and camcorder and the dead man’s wallet, because “I wanted to pay him in some way for attacking me.” He said he could not recall taking Greenwood’s mobile phone but accepted he must have done, since it was used to track Danaher’s movements back to Peterborough after the killing, which led to his arrest. Danaher said he was unsure if Greenwood was alive or dead but after catching his breath he had decided to rob him of a number of items including the copy of The Wind in the Willows, a camera and camcorder and the dead man’s wallet, because “I wanted to pay him in some way for attacking me”. He said he could not recall taking Greenwood’s mobile phone but accepted he must have done, since it was used to track Danaher’s movements back to Peterborough after the killing, which led to his arrest.
Danaher previously told the court that a spreadsheet found on his laptop entitled “Enterprises”, which listed a number of targets for robbery and kidnap including Greenwood and celebrities Kate Moss and Jeffrey Archer, was not created by him but by a mystery man whom he would not name.Danaher previously told the court that a spreadsheet found on his laptop entitled “Enterprises”, which listed a number of targets for robbery and kidnap including Greenwood and celebrities Kate Moss and Jeffrey Archer, was not created by him but by a mystery man whom he would not name.
He said the unidentified man was also responsible for repeated searches on his laptop for information about the home addresses of other high-profile figures, and that it had been this man, not him, who had earlier attempted to force his way into the home of Adrian Beecroft, a wealthy Conservative party donor, before being foiled. The unnamed man had taken his car and mobile phone, which is why they were traced to the family’s Hampstead home at the time of the attempt, he said. He said the unidentified man was also responsible for repeated searches on his laptop for information about the home addresses of other high-profile figures, and that it had been this man, not him, who had earlier attempted to force his way into the home of Adrian Beecroft, a wealthy Conservative party donor, before being foiled. The unnamed man had taken his car and mobile phone, which is why they were traced to the Beecroft family’s Hampstead home at the time of the attempt, he said.
But Oliver Saxby QC, cross-examining for the crown, said the reason Danaher was not prepared to name the other man was that “he doesn’t exist”. “Your counsel called him ‘unknown man’. He’s ‘made-up man’, isn’t he? Utterly made-up man.”But Oliver Saxby QC, cross-examining for the crown, said the reason Danaher was not prepared to name the other man was that “he doesn’t exist”. “Your counsel called him ‘unknown man’. He’s ‘made-up man’, isn’t he? Utterly made-up man.”
The case continues.The case continues.