‘I don’t remember sending HIV text’ - Rowe tells court

A SCOTS hairdresser has claimed he doesn’t recall sending a text to a male lover which said: “I have HIV. Lol. Whoops.”

Daryll Rowe also told a jury he refused prescribed medication for the disease because he was trying to cure himself by drinking his own urine.

The 27-year-old, originally from Edinburgh, is on trial at Lewes Crown Court accused of deliberately trying to infect 10 men with the virus.

Asked by Felicity Gerry QC, defending, why he didn’t take prescribed drugs after he was diagnosed in April 2015, he said: “The sites I was looking at had a section on HIV. It said you shouldn’t take antiretroviral drugs while doing urine therapy.”

Rowe – who calls himself a “hippie” on Instagram – said he followed online recommendations to drink his own urine to rid his body of the virus. He added: “I thought most medication just damaged the body.”

Cross- examined by Caroline Carberry QC, prosecuting, Rowe claimed he didn’t remember sending abusive text messages to his first alleged victim.

One of them said: “I have HIV. Lol. Whoops.” Ms Carberry suggested this was the start of his “campaign” to infect men. She said: “It’s convenient for you not to remember this text because you know this text is a very damning text.”

Rowe replied: “I didn’t give the messages much thought.

“Most of them are just really nasty and to get a reaction from the other person. I did not mean any of it. I didn’t believe I had HIV at the time.”

The trial continues.