Halfway House murder trial: Stabbing victim was ‘like Gordon Ramsay’
The owner of a diner near Shrewsbury who was found dead with more than 40 stab wounds has been described as having a 'Gordon Ramsey-type' persona.
Satnam Singh Blugher, 67, was found on the kitchen floor of Tony’s Diner in Halfway House, between Shrewsbury and Welshpool, by his son on June 26 this year.
Employee Belkar Singh, who was found with £47,000 in cash belonging to the victim, denies the murder.
At Stafford Crown Court on Tuesday, the jury heard a transcript of a phone call between Singh, 56, of Booth Street, Birmingham, and fellow employee Ram Gee in which the defendant revealed Blugher had been found dead.
Singh said: "Boss is no more. He is dead. There was blood everywhere."
The case so far:
Mr Gee told the jury he had no reason to suspect Singh killed their boss, who was known was "Mr B".
Speaking through a Punjabi interpreter, he said Singh was a small and friendly man who he became good friends with, and added that the victim was known for his temper.
Mr Gee said two men had left their jobs at the diner following rows with Mr Blugher.
Jo Sidhu, defending, told the court Mr Blugher had been likened to chef Gordon Ramsey because of his anger and said he had been involved in arguments with a number of employees and other people.
The jury also heard from a former chef at Tony's Diner, Vicky Walker, who said the victim had a disagreement with a neighbour and a builder shortly before his death.
She added: "He never shouted at me. My relationship with him was good.
"But he'd just had a disagreement with a builder who had done work for him and Mr B thought he'd been over-charged. They were disagreeing about money for further jobs he wanted doing.
"And a week before he died he spoke to the neighbours too about a row of conifer trees. He thought they should cut them but I just told him to speak to the council about it."
The businessman was found by his son Hardeep on the kitchen floor on the afternoon of June 26 after concerns that no one had seen him. He had been stabbed and struck up to 50 times.
The prosecution alleges that Singh was motivated by greed and attacked the victim for money.
The trial continues.
