Man is jailed for 30 years for killing to get rare 50p coins

A COIN collector “sowed the seeds of his own destruction” when he shared rare coins with a fellow enthusiast who later murdered him for the hoard, a court heard.

Gordon Mcghee, 52, was stabbed 14 times in the bedroom of his flat in Colchester, Essex, in a killing which was described as “savage”.

Danny Bostock denied he was responsible for attacking Mcghee to get his hands on his Beatrix Potter 50p pieces. However, Bostock, 33, was unanimously convicted of murder and attempted arson by a jury following a three-week trial at Ipswich Crown Court and was sentenced to a minimum 30 years in prison.

The court heard Bostock, who was a collector of limited edition 50p coins, entered Mr Mcghee’s flat in an opportunistic attempt to steal his coveted collection. When Mr Mcghee intervened he was stabbed 14 times, including in his face and neck.

Gas hobs were turned on and a dish cloth was set alight in an apparent bid to cause an explosion and destroy the evidence left behind. But Mr Mcghee’s blood was found on his bike and footprints matching trainers Bostock was wearing were scattered around the flat.

Judge David Goodin said: “He showed you his prize coin collection and gave you one, two, three of them – – his duplicates – in recognition of your own interest in that to add to your collection.

“When he did that it sparked your attention and sowed the seeds of his own destruction at your hands.”