Mother and daughter ‘murdered bookie who tried to leave for new life’

 
Accused: Shirley Banfield and her daughter Lynette deny killing the retired bookmaker
Paul Cheston8 March 2012
WEST END FINAL

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A Hampstead bookmaker signed his own death warrant when he agreed to sell his house and leave his wife and daughter, the Old Bailey heard today.

Don Banfield, 63, has not been seen for more than 10 years and his body has never been discovered following his plan to start a new life, the jury was told.

Tax official Shirley Banfield and her daughter Lynette killed him for the £123,000 he was due from his half of the house sale and his pensions, the court heard. Mr Banfield, manager of a branch of William Hill, was last seen leaving his home in Wealdstone in May 2001.

Within months of his retirement date he had decided to start a new life, said Crispin Aylett QC, prosecuting. “At that time he was obviously expecting to receive a large amount of money from the sale of the house,” he said.

“He also had his pension from William Hill to live on. But his wife Shirley, faced a rather bleaker future.

“She was then aged 54 and on the verge of being abandoned without enough money to re-house both herself and Lynette. Further, without Don’s pension, or only a share of it, they would have less money to live on than before.

“This must have caused tension in the household such as to make Mr Banfield fear for his own safety. Sadly his fears were well founded. When he signed the contract for the sale of the house he was unwittingly signing his own death warrant. Shirley and Lynette murdered Don Banfield either on that Friday night or else in the course of the weekend that followed.” Mr Banfield’s share of the sale was £60,000 minus legal fees, and he also had pensions due worth £29,000 from William Hill and a state pension which eventually totalled £34,000.

Within weeks they started to get their hands on Mr Banfield’s pensions by sending forged letters to William Hill and the Department of Works and Pensions. Mr Aylett said: “They could only have done so in the certain knowledge that he would not be coming back to expose them.”

Mr Banfield, a womaniser and gambler, held down his bookies job for 24 years, the court heard. Shirley Banfield, 64, and Lynette, 40, both from Canterbury, deny murder but have admitted conspiracy to defraud, forgery and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Shirley Banfield has also admitted retaining wrongful credit relating to Mr Banfield’s state pension.

The case continues.

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