Case of the body in the mattress – two guilty

A DRUG dealer who injected his girlfriend with a mixture of cocaine and heroin, and then hid her body inside a sealed up airbed mattress, was yesterday convicted of two counts of administering a poisonous or noxious substance and perverting the course of justice.

Clayton Hawkes, 52, and his co-defendant Blaze Fisher, 25 – who had earlier admitted perverting the course of justice – will be sentenced next week. Truro Crown Court heard it had been impossible to tell how the victim, Cecilia Seddon, 32, had died.

ADRUG dealer has been found guilty of concealing his lover’s dead body in a sealed up airbed and hiding it in a bed cavity.

Clayton Hawkes, 52, was also convicted of injecting 32-year-old Cecilia Seddon and another man, Gavin Boyle, with a ‘snowball’ mixture of cocaine and heroin at his attic flat in Penare Road, Penzance.

Hawkes, of Albertus Gardens in Hayle, has this week been on trial at Truro Crown Court. He was convicted by the jury of perverting the course of justice and two counts of administering a poisonous or noxious substance.

Co-defendant Blaze Fisher, 25, of Montague Avenue in Redruth, had already pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice. Both men will be sentenced on Thursday at Exeter Crown Court by Judge Peter Johnson who has been sitting in Truro for a week as a guest judge. Fisher and

Hawkes were remanded in custody until then.

Prosecuting, Peter Coombe opened by saying how in the early part of 2018, Hawkes and Fisher together with one other person were dealing Class A drugs in Penzance.

Hawkes was in charge of the drug dealing operation and living in an attic flat in Penare Road, Penzance where he sold drugs to the victim in this case, Cecilia Seddon, with whom he was having an affair.

Mr Coombe introduced the jury to Gavin Boyle, a customer of Hawkes. He said: “Mr Boyle says he met Cecilia Seddon at Clayton Hawkes’ house on either the 12th or 13th of April 2018. Gavin Boyle says the whole group – including Blaze Fisher – were at the flat and taking drugs supplied by Clayton Hawkes.”

Mr Coombe added: “Mr Hawkes and Mr Fisher were living at the flat but asked to stay at Mr Boyle’s home because Mr Hawkes was in the process of being evicted.”

The jury heard Mr Boyle went back to Mr Hawkes’ flat to help him collect some belongings. He said he could smell something rotting. Mr Hawkes told him it was either rotting meat in the fridge or rats in the wall

On April 18 police searched Hawkes’ flat for drugs. Mr Coombe said: “Mr Fisher was sent to go and check on the flat and whilst out Mr Hawkes started talking to Mr Boyle.

“Mr Hawkes told him that what he could smell was from Cecilia’s body and that she’d overdosed after he injected her with a mixture of heroin or cocaine known as a snowball.

“Mr Hawkes said that they panicked and covered her up and put her under the bed.” Hawkes and Fisher then discussed how they were going to dispose of Miss Seddon’s body.

Mr Coombe added: “Mr Boyle said that Mr Hawkes did most of the talking with Mr Fisher going on in agreement.”

On April 19 Mr Boyle went to Penzance police station and reported what Hawkes and Fisher had said to him.

Police then went to Hawkes’ attic flat and found Miss Seddon wrapped in an airbed, sealed up and put in a cavity under a double bed. A number of her clothing items and personal possessions were also in the bed. It was impossible for a pathologist to determine a cause of death.

Mr Coombe claimed it was “virtually impossible” for one person to conceal the body, adding: “The actions of those men delayed the police investigation and destroyed evidence that could have determined how Miss Seddon died”.