A MAN accused of murdering a Winchester resident admitted the killing to police while detained at a mental health facility – but said it was lawful, a court has heard.

David Gray was charged over the death of 37-year-old Carl Scott, who was found around a month after it is alleged he was hit on the head with an ornamental tomahawk axe and stabbed multiple times in the back.

Winchester Crown Court heard recordings of 10 phone conversations Gray had with police, in which he said he had been taken hostage by victim Mr Scott at his Thurmond Crescent home.

The 36-year-old, of no fixed abode, told police where they would be able to find Mr Scott’s keys, which the prosecution say he dumped in a nearby drain following the incident last February.

He said: “I have been accused of murder. The man kidnapped me and held me hostage. I believe it to be a lawful killing.”

During the phone calls, which took place in late August and early September while Gray was detained under the Mental Health Act, he said he believed Mr Scott’s body was still in a morgue rather than being buried or cremated, and asked for “a number for MI5”.

He also claimed that Mr Scott had links to the Austro-Hungarian royal family, and said he believed Hampshire Constabulary was corrupt.

The jury heard from prosecutor Kerry Maylin that Gray was sectioned on March 23 – the day after Mr Scott’s body was discovered – following an incident at Winchester Cathedral.

After being confronted by officers at addiction and homeless charity Trinity Winchester’s base, the court heard that Gray, who had schizophrenia, went into Winchester Cathedral, where police said he held a metal cross above his head. One officer drew a Taser during the confrontation, and he was eventually detained.

However, Ms Maylin told the jury that before and after the death of Mr Scott, thought to have been on February 12, Gray had undergone reviews by a mental health team, who found nothing to cause them concern at the time.

Yesterday morning, the court was also told how Mr Scott, a known drug user, had a criminal history, with convictions including assault, criminal damage and possession of a knife.

Gray is not standing trial for murder after he was deemed not fit to enter a plea. Instead, a jury has been tasked by judge Jane Miller QC with deciding whether he “unlawfully killed” Mr Scott. The trial continues.