Liverpool Crown Court heard George Gordon kept the dismembered body of 62-year-old Delia McInerney in his freezer for nearly three years
George Gordon is currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court
George Gordon is currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court (Image: Trinity Mirror)
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A pensioner claimed he had hit his "soulmate" over the head with a hammer in a "mercy killing" before keeping her dismembered body in his freezer for nearly three years, a court has heard. [Delia McInerney was found dead in George Gordon's flat on Gerards Court in St Helens alongside her five "beloved" guinea pigs](https:// https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/man-face-murder-trial-live-34848915), who he is alleged to have drowned then similarly frozen, in January this year.
But the 62-year-old, from Anfield, was said to have been killed as long ago as April 2023, having apparently been hit over the head with a hammer. She had supposedly been planning to move to Portugal to enjoy a "new life" only days later.
Gordon, who was also known as Chris, meanwhile bought a sledgehammer and 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. The 65-year-old went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Wednesday, accused of her murder, now claiming to have acted in self-defence during the incident.
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."
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'She was in agony, and I finished it'
Jurors then heard yesterday afternoon that Gordon was taken to Copy Lane Police Station following his arrest, making no comment during his first interview with detectives. While a second round of questioning was then scheduled for the following day, 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."
Officers stand outside Gerards Court.
Officers stand outside Gerards Court. (Image: Liverpool Echo)
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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."
Defendant said he wanted to 'die in prison'
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 then 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".
With Gordon having added that "he had not been living since she had passed and wanted to join her" and "said he wanted to be with Delia", he also claimed that CCTV of him taking money out at a cash machine "related to him paying off debts Delia had accrued prior to her death". He went on to detail how the dismemberment of Ms McInerney's body had "had happened in the bath" and was the "most horrendous thing he has had to do", the court heard.
Gordon meanwhile 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".
Later that evening, Gordon was said to have stated that he "didn't want to be here anymore" and had "ended up taking the life of his partner". Mr Reid added: "On the 11th of January, after a few false starts, the defendant was interviewed. He told the police that he had killed Delia McInerney on the 12th of April 2023.
"He said that, on that day, he had returned home from work at about 8pm to find Ms McInerney on the floor, writhing in pain. He said that she had taken an overdose and that, initially, he had said that he would call an ambulance, but she refused this offer and he held her in his arms.
"He said that she was in pain, and so he decided to pick up a nearby hammer and hit her on the head once. He said that he believed he fractured her skull, but she was still alive, looked at him, said 'I love you' for the first time and then died.
"He said that he held on to her body for a day-and-a-half before deciding to put her in the freezer. He said that the only way to do this was to dismember her. He said that he had cut off her head, not in fact the case, and removed her heart, which was the case, as she had told him that she wished for her heart to be buried underneath a tree in Scotland.
"When he was asked about the guinea pigs that were also found in the freezer, he admitted to putting them in there because Delia loved them, but he did not elaborate on how or when the guinea pigs died. He said that he had disposed of the saw and butcher's knife that he had used to dismember Ms McInerney's body and had initially kept the hammer, but that it was later stolen from his flat when he left his tools outside."
Delia McInerney
Delia McInerney(Image: Family Handout/Press Association)
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Self-defence claim after deceased 'held knife to throat'
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 defendant's case, as the prosecution understands it, is that he was acting in self-defence when he killed Delia McInerney. It is his case, as we understand it, that she hit him on his forehead with a hammer or mallet, causing him to fall, before attacking him with a knife and that he, the defendant, fearing that she was going to stab him, picked the mallet up off the floor and struck her to the head. In due course, you will be invited to consider, if it were really the case that the defendant had acted in self-defence, why he dismembered and hid her body and continued to lie to her friends to make them believe that she was still alive."
'Neither a mercy killing nor self-defence'
The court heard, while Gordon had claimed in interview that he had done so as he "did not wish to dishonour Ms McInerney's memory by saying she attacked him" and said the altercation had occurred after he had returned from a visit to Blackpool, 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.