🚨 An £20,000 Inheritance Dispute Turned Deadly When An 83-Year-Old Uncle Allegedly Stabbed His Nephew 11 Times—Then A Fire Added Another Chilling Twist
Pensioner, 83, ‘Stabbed Nephew to Death and Set Fire to Home Over £20,000 Inheritance Row’
An 83-year-old man stabbed his nephew 11 times and then set fire to a house amid a bitter dispute over a £20,000 inheritance, a court has heard.
Alan Wotton allegedly murdered 65-year-old Andrew Avery at his late sister’s home in Gosport, Hampshire, on 29 November 2024. Prosecutors claim Wotton was angry about plans for him to move out and believed his nephew was stealing money left to him in his sister’s will.
Wotton denies murder. The trial is continuing at Portsmouth Crown Court.
The Fatal Confrontation
Prosecutor Jodie Mittell KC told jurors there is no dispute that Wotton killed Avery. The older man inflicted seven stab wounds to Avery’s torso and four more to his left leg. Avery died from the multiple injuries.
On the day of the killing, Avery had gone to the house in Exmouth Road to help his “frail” uncle move out. Wotton had been staying at the property since the death of his sister, June, in 2023. Following the sale of the house, arrangements had been made for Wotton to move into a flat in Stoke Road, Gosport.
John Portlock, Avery’s husband, told the court he had lent £84,000 so that a flat could be purchased for Wotton. Avery himself contributed around £40,000 of his own money. The flat was to be bought in Avery’s name.
Prosecutors say Wotton was reluctant to leave his sister’s home and felt aggrieved about the financial arrangements. He allegedly believed Avery was withholding £20,000 that June had left him in her will.
What Wotton Told Police
After the killing, Wotton was arrested and interviewed. According to the prosecution, he told officers that his nephew had gone into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, but was “not man enough” to use it. Wotton claimed he then hit Avery in the mouth, took the knife from him, and “finished him.”
He is alleged to have said: “I turned it on him, the b*****d.” When asked whether he intended to kill his nephew, he replied: “Probably, yeah.”
The prosecution maintains that Wotton was the aggressor and the attacker, not a man acting in self-defence.
The Inheritance Dispute
June Avery died in 2023. Her son Andrew and grandson James became executors of her will and decided to sell her home. Wotton, who had travelled from Hungary for the funeral, moved into the house and remained there until the property was sold in November 2024.
Prosecutors say that once the sale went through, Avery arranged alternative accommodation for his uncle and went to the house on 29 November to help with the move. Far from simply “giving him his marching orders,” the court heard, Avery had made significant efforts and spent substantial sums to secure new housing for Wotton.
Wotton, however, is said to have felt that the financial arrangements amounted to theft of his inheritance. The alleged £20,000 sum became the focus of his resentment.
Defence Case
Sarah Jones KC, defending, has asked the jury to consider Wotton’s claim that he acted in self-defence. Alternatively, the defence is expected to argue that he had diminished responsibility. The court has heard that Wotton has since been diagnosed with a delusional disorder. He also suffers from a heart condition.
The defence will invite jurors to examine the older man’s mental state and the precise sequence of events inside the house on the day of the killing.
Fire After the Stabbing
After the fatal attack, Wotton allegedly set fire to the property. The blaze formed part of the aftermath of the killing and added a further layer of destruction to the scene.
A Family Tragedy
The case lays bare a catastrophic breakdown in family relationships following the death of June Avery. What began as the administration of a will and the practical matter of rehousing an elderly relative ended in a violent confrontation that left one man dead and another facing a murder charge at the age of 83.
Avery’s husband has described the financial efforts made to provide Wotton with a new home. Those arrangements, intended to resolve the situation, appear instead to have fuelled the older man’s sense of grievance.
The Trial Continues
Wotton remains on trial for murder. The jury must decide whether he deliberately killed his nephew in anger over the inheritance and the forced move, or whether he was acting in genuine self-defence, or whether his responsibility was diminished by mental illness.
The case continues at Portsmouth Crown Court.