Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Killing will put me up with the big ones
‘Dog walker suspect’s boast’
A FORMER soldier on trial for the murder of an elderly dog walker had told psychologists he wanted to kill to achieve notoriety, a court heard.
Alexander Palmer, 24, is accused of killing retired BT engineer Peter Wrighton, 83, as he walked his two pets in remote woodland last year.
Prosecutors claim Palmer had told psychologists he wanted to target a dog owner to make his name. One allegedly wrote, in notes read to the jury: “If he did this he would be up on a pedestal.
“He would be up with the big ones. Everyone would look up to him. Everyone would know his name.”
The court previously heard Palmer had a “grudge” against dog walkers.
Another note read: “He said he is thinking of ‘going for’ dog walkers. He said he hates dog walkers... because they were constantly muttering things about him, eg ‘weak and ugly’.
“He said he would tie them to a fence and cut them open. He said he would only do this to dog walkers or people going into their houses with their dogs.”
Father-of-two Mr Wrighton was stabbed over 30 times and almost decapitated in East Harling, Norfolk, in August.
Palmer was held after a psychologist told police he could be someone “worth speaking to” in their hunt for the killer. Jurors earlier heard Palmer had told doctors about voices in his head from “Little Alex” urging him to kill.
His phone was shown to be in East Harling on the day of the killing. CCTV footage also showed his car in the area.
Palmer, of Bawdeswell, Norfolk, denies the murder. The trial continues at Nottingham crown court.