Nancy Pexton, 70, denies murdering her sister Jennifer Abbott who was found dead at her Camden flat with a Rolex watch missing, the Old Bailey trial heard on Thursday
A film director allegedly murdered by her sister for her Rolex watch had claimed she was “capable of killing” and had “done it before”, a court has been told.
Jennifer Abbott was allegedly slashed and stabbed by Nancy Pexton, 70, at her flat in Camden, north London, on June 20 last year. Three days afterwards, a neighbour forced open the door and discovered 69-year-old Ms Abbott dead on her living room floor with gaffer tape over her mouth.
Her diamond-encrusted gold Rolex watch had vanished and was subsequently found among Pexton’s possessions after she was taken to hospital, jurors at the Old Bailey have been told. On Thursday, Ms Abbott’s nephew Feras Abu-Khait spoke to jurors about their close bond after she carried him in her arms as an infant when they fled Palestine in 1967 and travelled to Kuwait.
Speaking through an interpreter, he explained his aunt had relocated with her son Brad to America where she wed and gained US citizenship.
She subsequently moved to Britain but maintained regular contact, sometimes speaking twice daily in the months before her death, Mr Abu-Khait said.
In November 2024, she asked for his guidance after sharing a “threatening” message from her sister, he said. In it, Pexton wrote: “You know Jenny, I always loved you from my heart and you betrayed me in every way because you jealous of me all the time since we were kids and your jealousy turned to hate.
“You know I was planning to kill you but it was just a thought, I would never hurt you.”
The message continued with a warning for Ms Abbott to “watch your back from those you conned and stole money from”.
Pexton penned: “You never know they could get you while you walking your dog. Be careful honey, I worry about you. You so many enemy (sic).”
Mr Abu-Khait advised against contacting the police as he suggested Pexton might not have been serious and could have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In an attempt to “prove” her fears, Ms Abbott alleged that Pexton and her daughter were “quite capable of killing because they had done it before”, according to the witness.
Mr Abu-Khait informed jurors: “That is what she was informing me. She was trying to prove to me they could go on that threat.”
During cross-examination, Sasha Wass KC told jurors that both the prosecution and defence agreed there was “not any foundation in that allegation”.
Ms Wass suggested that after the exchange in November 2024, Ms Abbott ceased claiming her sister was threatening her but had complained to him about her son, Brad, in the United States.
The witness informed jurors she had been distressed at being unable to see him and her grandchildren but he had responded to a “forceful” message from him.
He told jurors: “He left her eight years living alone with her dog. He convinced her in the beginning to buy the dog and then he left her.”
Following her arrest, Pexton maintained that she loved her sister and that the messages were merely a way of “venting” her emotions, the jury was told.
Pexton, of no fixed address, has pleaded not guilty to murder. The trial at the Old Bailey continues.