Christopher Murgatroyd found footage on Peter Fasoli’s computer two years after his death showing him being bound, gagged and killed, Old Bailey jury told

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A nephew who thought his uncle had died in an accidental house fire was searching for information about his family tree when he discovered horrific footage revealing that he was in fact killed in a sadomasochistic sex session, a court has heard.

Christopher Murgatroyd was looking at Peter Fasoli’s fire-damaged computer two years after Fasoli’s death in January 2013 when he discovered video of his uncle being bound, gagged and killed by fantasist Jason Marshall, a jury at the Old Bailey was told.

The jury heard that music from Wagner and Mendelssohn played during the attack in which Fasoli, 58, was smothered after Marshall tricked his way into his home. Afterwards he set fire to the victim’s one-bedroom bungalow in Northolt, west London, to cover up the killing, it was alleged. Marshall, 28, of East Ham, east London, denies murder.

Prosecutor Edward Brown QC warned jurors that the attack was “as shocking as it was determined” before playing extracts from the video, which went on for six hours.

The defendant first got in contact with Fasoli, a computer repairman, through a dating website and offered to arrange a threesome, the court heard. Marshall arrived at the victim’s home at around 7pm on 6 January 2013, purporting to be a police officer and carrying a police utility belt, handcuffs and a pistol holster.



During sexual roleplay, Marshall stripped the victim and arrested him for “being a spy” and hacking into a government laptop, the court heard. Fasoli was threatened with a knife and forced to hand over his cash card pin numbers, the court heard.

Marshall muttered “suspect detained” after injecting him with a drug to “put you to sleep while I go to the cash machine”, it was alleged. The victim then screamed that he could not breathe. Marshall, who was shown in the video wearing latex gloves, also held a plastic bag over his victim’s head, jurors were told.

“There is an ominous determination and seriousness in the way the defendant is carrying out the task, as he sees it,” said Brown. “There is no emotion, no panic, no regret.”

As Fasoli lay dying on the floor, Marshall allegedly stood and “calmly” lit a cigarette, then made the sign of the cross and recited a blessing for the departed in Latin and the word “resurrection”.

It is alleged that Marshall withdrew £400 in cash from Fasoli’s account and used his card to buy a flight to Rome.

A postmortem examination initially gave the cause of death as inhalation of fire fumes, but a re-examination found that Fasoli was still alive when the fire was set. Restraint and asphyxia also contributed to his death, Brown said.

The trial was adjourned until Tuesday.