‘Killer banker tortured vice girl for three days’
Briton accused of double murders watched violent porn, court told
A BRITISH banker accused of the drug-fuelled murder of two sex workers watched violent porn and wanted to turn ‘fantasy into a reality’, a court heard yesterday.
Cambridge graduate Rurik Jutting, 31, is said to have tortured one victim in his luxury Hong Kong flat for three days with his belt, sex toys and a pair of pliers.
High on cocaine, he allegedly forced Sumarti Ningsih, 23, to kneel with her hands tied behind her back and lick a toilet bowl before cutting her throat. Jurors heard how Jutting, who attended £36,000-a-year Winchester College in Hampshire, then took footage of the horrifying torture ordeal on his iPhone.
Yesterday the Merrill Lynch financier, who is said to have earned £350,000 a year, appeared in court in Hong Kong where he denied murdering Miss Ningsih and a second woman, Seneng Mujiasih, 26.
He instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but it was rejected by prosecutors at Hong Kong’s High Court.
Jurors were warned at the start of the murder trial that some of the evidence would be ‘extremely disturbing’.
Prosecutor John Reading told how Jutting had met Miss Ningsih on a previous occasion for sex when she complained that the banker had been ‘rough with her’.
They met again on October 25, 2014, when he offered the mother of one a large sum to go with him to his home near the Wan Chai red light district, the court heard. But over the next three days, Jutting – formerly of Cobham in Surrey – subjected Miss Ningsih to ‘increasingly cruel acts of violence using his belt, sex toys, a pair of pliers and his fists’, Mr Reading claimed.
Hands tied, she was forced to lick the toilet bowl in the bathroom before her throat was cut with a serrated knife, jurors heard. She did not immediately die, so Jutting dragged her into the shower and continued to saw through her neck until she was dead.
He then filmed himself talking about the attack for several hours – describing how he had ‘enjoyed dominating the victim and killing her’.
Mr Reading told the court: ‘On occasions he returned to the bathroom and Miss Ningsih’s body could still be seen on the floor of the shower.
‘At some stage he wrapped the body in plastic bags, a bed sheet and a blanket, tied it with rope and placed it in a suitcase, which was then placed out on the balcony.
‘He talked about having watched pornographic videos including those depicting the use of extreme violence on others. He talked about his fantasies and turning fantasy into reality. He talked about having raped Miss Ningsih. He said at one stage in relation to Miss Ningsih: ‘I definitely could not have done that without cocaine’.
The court heard that after the killing Jutting set the outof-office reply on his work email to say: ‘I am out of the office. Indefinitely.
‘For urgent enquiries, please contact someone who is not an insane psychopath. For escalation, please contact God, though suspect the devil will have custody.’
Days later the financier is said to have gone ‘hunting for prey’ and slit the throat of Miss Mujiasih. Officially in Hong Kong as a domestic helper, she was working at a bar when Jutting offered her a large sum for sex, the court heard. Before leaving his flat Jutting allegedly placed two knives under the cushions on his sofa.
He also prepared a gag made from a length of rope and a condom, jurors heard. Back at his apartment he cut Miss Mujiasih’s throat after threatening to kill her if she continued to call out and struggle.
Mr Reading said: ‘In one of his interviews with the police the accused explained how he went out that evening hunting for prey and that Miss Mujiasih was his prey.’
He added: ‘The accused continued to make video recordings on his phone.
‘He told the police that after he killed Miss Mujiasih he used up the remainder of the cocaine that he had, and it
‘Increasingly cruel acts’ ‘Went hunting for prey’
seems he was hallucinating.’ In a drug-fuelled paranoia, he called police to his 31st floor flat where they found the bodies of the two women, who are both from Indonesia.
Miss Mujiasih was found in the living room with knife wounds to her legs and buttocks, while the decaying remains of Miss Ningsih were found in a suitcase.
Jurors heard a tape recording of the 999 call in which Jutting, the grandson of a decorated former member of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, claimed the ‘ninja police’ were trying to arrest him.
He said: ‘There are multiple, I believe, special forces or police outside my room.
‘I have tried to surrender to them but they are not talking to me. I need to speak to someone to understand what they want me to do.’
The trial continues.