FORMER FRIEND CLAIMS DEFENDANT HAD TRIED TO STAB HIM

Damon Gower said he was no longer friends with Donovan, who he said had tried to stab him and pushed him through a glass window in Ramsgate.

Mr Gower said he had not wanted any action to be taken over the matter because he was “not a name dropper” and just wanted to be “patched up and sent away”.

Hold the jury of 10 men and two women: “I declined to pursue a prosecution because it was more drama and aggro. Since then, I have not liked him.”

Questioned by defence QC Oliver Saxby, Mr Gower denied he had ever caused damage at the home of Donovan’s mother in Ingoldsby Road, Thanington, or stolen anything from it.

He remembered Donovan having a relationship with Daisy Avery when she was 15 and they were all living in Folkestone.

Mr Gower said he had also been in a relationship with Miss Avery a couple of months before the police went to see him in relation to the murder.

“She likes to play games,” he claimed. “That is why I stay away from her. She plays head games. The relationship didn’t last three months.”

Mr Gower said he found out about Mr Fox’s remains being found when the story was shared on Facebook.

“It didn’t really interest me,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about it until the police knocked on my door. I said I had known Richard Donovan since college when I was 16.

“I was asked about the name Philip Fox and I said it didn’t mean anything to me.”

Mr Gower said he had walked past Mr Fox’s tent with a friend after he saw that his body had been found.

“I said I had never been in it,” he added. “I was aware things had kicked off but I wasn’t aware what happened. I didn’t know any details. It was just shock when anybody knocks on your door. I have my own stuff to worry about.”

Asked about guns, Mr Gower said he had just been clay pigeon shooting once.