Killer is guilty of murdering stepdaughter and her husband by knifing them to death before picking up their children from school then taking them to McDonald’s

The murderer, who beat his stepdaughter to death with a hammer, then stabbed her husband and calmly picked up her children from school and took them to McDonald’s, was found guilty of murder.

Derek Martin, 67, was ‘surrounded’ in his own home and brutally attacked Chloe Bashford, 30, after an argument over money.

He grabbed a hammer and bludgeoned her several times over the head before going to the kitchen and fetching a knife, then stabbing her eight times as she lay on the floor.

Martin then waited for Bashford’s husband Josh, 33, to return home for lunch, then chased him upstairs, stabbed him four times and strangled him to death with a belt.

The grandfather attempted to clean up the carnage before calmly collecting the deceased’s children from school.

He then took them to dinner at McDonald’s, then dropped them off at their grandmother’s house and surrendered to the police.

Police body camera footage showed the moment he walked into Brighton police station and made a chilling confession: ‘I killed two people.’

Today Martin, of Moulsecoomb, Brighton, was found guilty by a jury at Brighton Law Courts.

The couple was murdered in their home by Derek Martin, who then took his children to McDonald’s.

Families of both victims held their breath as the jury declared Martin guilty on both murder charges.

Martin was impassive and showed no reaction or emotion as the verdicts were announced.

He denied murder but admitted manslaughter with diminished responsibility.

The 67-year-old defendant will be sentenced in November.

It had previously been heard that Ms Bashford was first attacked with a hammer and then stabbed by Martin.

The prosecutor said: ‘He attacked Chloe with a hammer. He hit him on the head with a hammer. He then went to the kitchen to get a large knife. After doing this he stabbed Chloe multiple times with that knife causing serious injuries which led to her death.

‘He stabbed her eight times in her upper back and stomach. There were two stab wounds to a depth of approximately 20 cm. The knife caused severe injuries from which Chloe died.

‘A few minutes later, around 12.20pm, Josh arrived home. ‘Immediately after she entered the house Derek Martin attacked her.’

After picking up Miss Bashford’s four children and leaving the teenagers with his ex-wife Elaine Sturges in Brighton, Martin sent a message to his ex, who is Chloe’s mother.

It had previously been heard that Ms Bashford was first attacked with a hammer and then stabbed by Martin. Photographed here with her husband

‘Elaine I’m so sorry, I can’t believe what I did, I know everyone hates me, especially the boys, I already hate myself and please, please take really good care of the children,’ she said.

‘I’m just about to walk into the police station then that’s my days done and I’ve done a good job I know it wouldn’t mean anything but I’m so sorry don’t take the kids home x.’

The court heard Martin had a violent upbringing.

He started playing while he was still of school age and was in and out of prison for most of his adult life.

Martin was being examined under the mental health law and was told in court he had a history of self-harm and depression.

‘He is emotionally unstable, sometimes referred to as borderline personality disorder,’ a psychiatrist said.

The best definition, he said, is recurrent depressive disorder.

Martin told Broadmoor doctors that he had noticed a change in his mental state in the months before their deaths.

‘He reported feeling depressed, unable to sleep, had poor concentration, thought he wanted to die and had stopped taking his medication.

“He said he didn’t deserve to get any better,” said consultant psychiatrist Dr Ian Cumming.

Martin offered financial support, ran a home business, and told doctors he was stealing to provide financial assistance to the family.

Dr Cumming said: ‘He began to have a negative perception that he was being abused by Chloe. He started to think of her as someone using him. Something he said was constantly on his mind.

‘I didn’t get the feeling that he was making up the symptoms. He reported a fairly consistent subset of symptoms.

‘There is internal consistency in the explanations he gave,’ Dr Cumming said.

Dr Cumming said the attack on Chloe and Josh was unplanned and impulsive in response to the events of the day.

The court heard Martin argued with Chloe about money in the moments before he attacked her and lashed out after she told him not to visit her and their children again.

Dr Cumming said: ‘He felt he was being used. When he said don’t come anymore, he felt like he was being blocked. Anger led him to kill and attack her.

‘There was no point in planning ahead. That seems to be what’s fueling it.’