Exclusive:Murder trial adjourned until next week as Gosport pensioner accused of killing nephew Andrew Avery

A murder trial has been adjourned until next week, a judge has ruled.

Alan Wotton, 83 of Exmouth Road, Gosport, is accused of murdering his nephew, Andrew Avery, and has been charged with one count of murder and an alternative count of manslaughter. He denies the charges, saying he acted in self-defence.

Mr Avery died after being seriously assaulted at his home in Exmouth Road on November 29, 2024. The house was also set on fire, with Wotton pleading guilty to one count of arson.

Over the past two weeks, evidence has been heard from emergency responders who were on the scene, psychiatrists who have assessed Wotton, and Mr Avery’s surviving relatives - including his widower, John Portlock. Wotton himself refused to give evidence.

At Portsmouth Crown Court this morning (Friday, August 28), Judge Michael Bowes KC summarised the trial, with the intention of retiring the jury to consider their verdict. But the case has now been adjourned until Tuesday next week.

The jury heard how pedestrians first saw smoke rising from Exmouth Road. When emergency services arrived, they found a property on fire and Wotton sat in the back garden. He told authorities he had stabbed his nephew, claiming Mr Avery approaching him holding a knife and he “turned it on him, the b******.”

He said: “There is no more evidence - between us we will ensure you return true verdicts from the evidence you have heard.

“The prosecution must make you sure that the defendant is guilty, that he unlawfully killed Andrew Avery. There is no burden on Alan Wotton to prove his innocence.

“It’s accepted by Wotton that he stabbed Mr Avery, and therefore caused his death. He says he was acting in lawful self-defence - his belief was that he was about to be attacked with a knife. He has also raised the defence of diminished responsibility. If proven, it can reduce the offence from murder to manslaughter.”

Wotton’s diminished responsibility argument comes from psychiatrists diagnosing him with a deluisional disorder - which “distorts” a person’s sense of reality. In his case, he became convinced that people thought he was a paedophile, based on an incident he believed took place while he was living in Hungary.

The defendant was never arrested, charged or convicted with any sexual offences. He also was certain that Mr Avery was spreading these rumours, specifically to his neighbours, staff at Co-Op and Specsavers, and others in custody at HMP Lewes - after Wotton had been arrested and Mr Avery had died.

Judge Bowes added: “Wotton must establish four things to be more likely than not. That he was suffering from an abnormality of mental function; that this arose from a recognised medical condition; that this substanially impaired his ability to understand the nature of his conduct; and that this caused, or was a serious factor, in him killing Mr Avery.”

(Proceeding)