Michael Bretton, 41, of Shaftesbury, Dorset, was convicted of stabbing Craig Hurcombe, 39, with a samurai sword before burying him in a shallow grave and texting his partner
A violent killer has been jailed for nearly three decades for the brutal murder of his former lover’s partner.
Dorset man Michael Bretton, 41, was handed 29 years and six months behind bars after he slaughtered Craig Hurcombe with a samurai sword. Hurcombe was in a relationship with Bretton’s ex-partner Kate Saunders at the time of the killing, with Bretton being described as having grown ‘obsessed’ with the couple.
Having tracked them both with GPS devices, Bretton headed to Hurcombe’s workplace in Somerset on January 1 this year, where he stabbed him with the sword before burying him in a shallow grave in what prosecutors described as a “cold-blooded execution.”
Bretton claimed that Hurcombe, 39, had died as a result of a tragic accident, claiming that he had accidentally fallen and impaled himself on a metal shaft. However, the jury was unconvinced, and unanimously found him guilty of murder.
The court heard a horrific story of a twisted man consumed by jealousy, who after being dumped by Saunders when he tried to turn their casual relationship into something more, became “obsessed” with his ex and her new partner.
Before the killing, he placed GPS devices on both their cars, with a confrontation breaking out when he followed them inside a Somerset pub leading to police being called.
Shockingly, after her partner’s shocking murder, Saunders received texts from his phone telling her not to be ‘hard’ on Bretton and suggesting she get back together with him.
However, the messages were really coming from Bretton himself, who had stolen Saunders’ SIM card and inserted it into his own phone.
Speaking in his own defence, Bretton claimed Hurcombe’s death was a “tragic accident” adding that he “panicked” admitting that he buried Hurcombe’s body in a wood before burning his clothes and setting his car on fire in a bid to cover up the grizzly crime.
Bretton had also been charged with stalking Kate Saunders, although the jury was not asked to return a verdict on that charge.
Judge Hart, who sentenced Bretton, said: “If you read about this case, you’d think it was something from a crime novel.”
He branded Bretton a “cowardly and secret assassin”, adding: “You were driven by jealousy, not love. You took him by surprise and didn’t give him the slightest chance to live.”
The victim’s mother described the loss as “beyond measure”, saying that “to murder Craig in such a brutal way and then send messages pretending to be him caused our family unimaginable pain. More than 210 people came to his funeral. It showed just how many lives Craig touched.”
Det Insp Neil Meade from Avon and Somerset Police’s Major Crime said that “you cannot imagine the fear Craig must have felt when he was confronted with a samurai sword. It was a horrific, lonely place to lose your life.”