Accused contacted transgender woman due to 'old habits' Published duration 9 October 2018

image copyright Twitter image caption The court has heard Naomi Hersi's naked body was found lying on the floor of a hotel bathroom

A man accused of murdering a transgender woman after a three-day sex and drugs binge has told a court he contacted her because of "old habits."

Jesse McDonald is accused of drugging Naomi Hersi before stabbing her to death in a hotel near Heathrow Airport between 14-18 March.

The 25-year-old told the Old Bailey he had been "a complete idiot" for contacting Ms Hersi online.

He denies a charge of murder and perverting the course of justice.

The court has previously heard the Brighton-born university dropout was "looking for excitement" when he found Ms Hersi on a website called Fabswingers.com.

After the killing, Mr McDonald got bags and cleaning products before contacting his girlfriend, Natalia Darkowska, who joined him in the attempted clean-up, the jury has been told.

The 18-year-old of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, also denies perverting the course of justice.

image copyright PA image caption Jesse McDonald's girlfriend Natalia Darkowska is accused of perverting the course of justice

When asked by his barrister Michael Turner QC why he had contacted Ms Hersi after spending time with his girlfriend he said it was "because I'm a complete idiot".

"I went there because of old habits of the past."

He told the court he had been "looking for something" and it was "not uncommon for me to have done something like this in the past."

"At the time I felt open-minded, liberal-minded, whatever you want to call it. I was open to try it again. I feel very different now," he said.

He added he had no idea Ms Hersi was HIV positive but knew she was a transsexual with "male anatomy".

image copyright Google image caption Mr McDonald had been living in a hotel near Heathrow Airport

The jury also heard Mr McDonald made £80,000 from mining Bitcoin after dropping out of the London School of Economics.

He then became a courier of "1960s hippy drugs" such as hashish and mushrooms and admitted that he had smoked hash, occasionally taken cocaine and had once injected himself with testosterone

The trial continues.

Related Topics Trowbridge