A teenage boy whose body lay hidden in an attic for eight months was murdered by a couple for his money so they could “give their children a good Christmas”, the Old Bailey heard today.

Abdi Ali was 17 when he was stabbed and bludgeoned to death with a claw hammer allegedly at the home of Stacy Docherty, 28, and her partner Gary Hopkins, 37, in December 2017.

His body was wrapped in a duvet and hidden in the loft at the second-floor flat in Enfield, and was only discovered in August last year.

Prosecutor Gareth Patterson QC said Docherty made “significant admissions” to a friend after her partner boasted about the killing and showed off where the body was hidden.

“She revealed that the motive had been financial, stating that she had wanted to give her children a good Christmas,” he said.

Mr Patterson said Hopkins told two sisters he intended kill a drug dealer who was at his home, that he had “done this before” and then showed them the body. One sister went to the police two days later to report the couple.

Docherty and Hopkins, both of Enfield, deny murder. Hopkins has admitted preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body and perverting the course of justice. Docherty denies both charges. The trial continues.