Disabled ex-businessman ‘murdered with machete used in two robberies’
AMAN has admitted murdering a retired restaurant owner in his own home using a large machete and a hammer.
Nicholas Churton, 67, was found dead in the living room of his flat on March 23.
Yesterday, Jordan Davidson, 25, admitted the murder at Mold Crown Court.
Opening the case against him, prosecuting barrister Andrew Thomas QC said the victim lived alone in a one-bedroom flat in Crescent Close, Wrexham.
He was disabled and had restricted mobility.
Friend Colin Pemberton had become concerned that Mr Churton had failed to keep an appointment to meet over the weekend, the Daily Post reports.
He went looking for him and found Mr Churton lying dead on the sofa in his living room, having suffered major head injuries.
“We now know that Jordan Davidson murdered Mr Churton on the previous Thursday night.
“Two weapons were used in the attack: a large machete and a hammer,” said Mr Thomas.
Davidson was eventually arrested in the early hours of March 29.
Associated charges were committed in the days just before and just after the murder.
Three offences followed his arrest – assaults on the arresting officer, a detective who conducted the interviews, and a prison officer.
Those offences included four offences of assault – three of them wounding with intent – an aggravated burglary, two robberies and an attempted robbery and offences of burglary and aggravated vehicle taking.
Mr Thomas said that three of the offences, including the murder, were attacks on older men.
Davidson targeted vulnerable victims and four of the offences involved the use of a machete.
“Three of the offences involved the use of a hammer as a weapon,” he said.
The court heard that Mr Churton originally qualified as an accountant.
He had worked overseas in southern Africa, but returned to the UK to set up a business on his own in the 1980s.
For many years he was a wellknown and successful local businessman, with restaurants in Rossett near Wrexham and at Tarporley in Cheshire.
He was a family man with children and more recently grandchildren.
In his later years, Mr Churton had become prone to drinking. He had sold the businesses in 2005 and at about the same time he had separated from his wife.
For several years he led an unsettled life, but in October last year he had found accommodation at a rented flat in Crescent Close, on the edge of the Caia Park estate, where he lived alone.
By the time of his death, Mr Churton was physically frail and disabled.
He had suffered a fractured hip as a result of a fall. He was still mobile but he had to use a walking frame to travel any distance.
Mr Churton’s family continued to help and support him. He had spoken to his ex-wife on the day of his death.
They had one grandchild and another on the way, and had discussed about arrangements to see them.
His family were concerned that he was vulnerable to exploitation. He still had some money – a small amount of savings which was left over after his divorce.
That fact tended to attract certain people to him. His brother describes him as ‘an easy target’, said Mr Thomas.
Davidson also admitted other separate charges – two burglaries, a robbery, an attempted robbery, attempted grievous bodily harm and a charge of actual bodily harm on police officers.
He denied robbing Mr Churton of a set of keys on an earlier occasion and the prosecution offered no evidence against him.
The judge said he would hear much of the case today and would then adjourn sentence until next week, provisionally on Wednesday.