Elderly widow, 74, 'murdered by 38-year-old neighbour obsessed with granny porn after she rejected his sexual advances'
- Patrick Curran is accused of strangling his mother's friend Joan Roddam
- Court heard he killed and buried her in near field after she spurned him
- Porn showing elderly ladies having sex with young men found at his home
- Curran has been in custody since arrest last year but refuses to attend trial
Curran is accused of strangling his mother's friend Joan Roddam (pictured) after she spurned his advances
An elderly widow was murdered by a neighbour obsessed with 'granny porn' after he went to her home to try and have sex with her, a court heard.
Patrick Curran, 38, is accused of strangling his mother's friend Joan Roddam, 74, in her bungalow after she refused his lewd advances.
He then buried her frail body under a wheelbarrow in a field behind her house, Truro Crown Court heard.
Pornographic material, depicting women in their 70s or older having sex with men in their 20s, was found on a computer seized from Curran's home two years later.
Prosecutors say Curran went to Joan's home in a state of 'heightened sexual drive' - but when she said no he killed her.
Curran is on trial accused of Joan's murder on November 8, 2003 - but has so far declined to attend court.
Prosecutor Simon Laws, QC, said at the time of the murder Curran had a strong sexual interest in pornography between elderly women and younger men.
He said: 'The prosecution's case is that Patrick Curran went around to Joan Roddam's house that morning because he was interested in having sexual contact with her.
'He went there seeking an outlet for his heightened sexual drive. It is not our case that he went there planning on killing her.
'Something happened after he arrived which caused him to strangle her. It is not hard to picture a scene in which he made advances to her and was rebuffed.
'His mother was her friend, they lived down the road, where does that scene go from there in this small community?'
He said they would also present evidence to show that Curran had a heightened sexual drive, as he told a doctor the day before the killing, and had mental health issues.
The court was told the victim was just 5'4 tall and weighed 65kg and would have been easily overpowered by the defendant.
Mrs Roddam's body was discovered after a delivery driver raised the alarm.
Curran is on trial accused of the murder in 2003 but has so far declined to attend Truro Crown Court (pictured)
A post mortem showed she had been strangled and suffered numerous other injuries to her head and body.
Curran was described in court as an isolated figure in the community, whose attic bedroom had views over Mrs Roddam's home in Delabole, Cornwall.
Forensic evidence also linked Curran to the scene at her home where she had lived alone for seven years since the death of her late husband.
Mr Laws said her body was moved in a wheelbarrow, which was partially covering her body when it was discovered by police dog handler.
He added: 'Mrs Roddam had sustained bleeding injuries, particularly to the head, very probably as her body was being dumped in the field.
'A blanket covering her body was stained with blood and DNA found on the blanket matched the defendant's.
'This finding links the defendant indelibly to the scene and to the murder of Joan Roddam.'
Mr Laws said fibres from clothing belonging to Curran were also found, including on Mrs Roddam's dressing gown, which she was wearing when she died.
Curran has been in custody since his arrest last year. He has declined to attend the trial or be represented by lawyers but he has denied the murder.
The trial is expected to last four weeks.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2903397/Elderly-widow-74-murdered-38-year-old-neighbour-obsessed-granny-porn-rejected-sexual-advances.html#ixzz3OLHHqTfZ
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