Local man faces UK murder rap

A GUERNSEYMAN on trial for murder in the UK is alleged to have subjected his victim to a frenzied attack. Nigel Ogier, 28, who was brought up in Guernsey, is accused with Peter Taylor of luring former colleague Patrick Welch to his death last March with the promise of stolen champagne.

Mr Welch, who worked with the accused as a security guard, was zapped with a stun gun, knifed almost 30 times with a six-inch blade and kicked in the head during the attack, which took place in the kitchens beneath Ascot racecourse.

A dog walker discovered the victim's body in a shallow grave at a car park on the racecourse last May.

Reading Crown Court heard yesterday that the men bragged to friends about the attack, but no one took them seriously until the body was discovered.

The defendants' friends contacted police and told them about the admissions.

Mr Taylor handed himself in to police on 27 May. Mr Ogier was arrested 35 minutes later.

Despite three days of intensive police interviews, the pair replied 'no comment' to all questions.

They were subsequently charged with murder on 30 May.

The jury heard that Mr Taylor bore a grudge against Mr Welch, believing him to have stolen his Harley-Davidson and Kawasaki motorbikes.

Simon Draycott, prosecuting, said the pair murdered Mr Welch because Mr Taylor held a 'simmering resentment' against him.

'Welch was subjected to a ferocious attack at the hands of these two men,' he told the court.

'So violent was the attack that his skull and facial bones suffered numerous fractures, his ribs and arms were fractured and he was stabbed 26 times to the neck, chest, abdomen, and wrist.'

It was revealed that the trio had previously stolen large amounts of alcohol while they were working at the racecourse after discovering that the alarm to the wine cellar did not work.

Mr Draycott added: 'On the day in question, Welch found a text message on his phone. It was from Ogier, who wanted him to join him at Ascot Racecourse to steal wine from the kitchens.

'The suggestion of stealing from the racecourse would not have come as a surprise to Welch.'

Both Mr Taylor, of Windsor, Berkshire, and Mr Ogier, of Egham, Surrey, deny murder.

The case continues.