A $544,000 life insurance policy was enough for a bigamist to conspire with his wife and son to kill his second bride, a British court heard.
A $544,000 life insurance policy was enough for a bigamist to conspire with his wife and son to kill his second bride, a British court heard.
Pierre Legris, also known as Alain Baron, 61, is accused of killing Rui Li, 44, by hitting her over the head with a blunt implement before wrapping her body in a building sheet at the home they shared in Bournemouth on May 23 last year.
The Chinese national was found in the trunk of a Fiat Punto car a week later on May 30.
The prosecution told the court that Legris conspired to murder Li, who worked as a nurse, with his other wife, Irene Smith, 66, and their son Jonathan Legris, 27.
The prosecution said the potential motive for the killing was the three defendants were having financial difficulties.
On top of her life insurance policy, Li drove a Porsche Boxster and also owned a property which she was trying to sell to make a profit of $181,000.
The prosecution said it was at this property where Pierre Legis ran a massage service which also 'on occasion' provided 'sexual services.'
The court heard that some customers, who responded to an advert on Gumtree, paid for the sexual services of Rui Li and that Pierre Legris was present and participated.
The prosecution said that the defence put forward by Pierre Legris was that a 'disgruntled' customer may have followed Li home and murdered her while her husband was out.
The prosecutor said that Li was murdered at her home after suffering a blunt force trauma to the back of her head. “Such was the nature of the wound that she would have been expected to have bled extensively,” said the prosecution. “No such heavy weapon has been found and in addition very little blood was found at the scene - it suggests a thorough clean-up has been done to prevent blood from escaping to the scene nearby.”
After the murder the victim's body was in fact placed in Pierre Legris' Ford Transit van, which his son worked on the following day.
The body was later transferred to the Fiat Punto, owned by his son and driven to another location where Li was found a week after she was killed.
Prosecutors said after the killing Pierre Legris was “cool and focused and clear in what he was doing, not rushed or in a panic, he had a plan and it involved others, his son, Jonathan Legris and his other wife Irene Smith.”
Adding: 'The fact is the three of them were involved in a conspiracy to kill.'
Pierre Legris, also known as Alain Baron, 61, is accused of killing Rui Li, 44, by hitting her over the head with a blunt implement before wrapping her body in a building sheet at the home they shared in Bournemouth on May 23 last year.
The Chinese national was found in the trunk of a Fiat Punto car a week later on May 30.
The prosecution told the court that Legris conspired to murder Li, who worked as a nurse, with his other wife, Irene Smith, 66, and their son Jonathan Legris, 27.
The prosecution said the potential motive for the killing was the three defendants were having financial difficulties.
On top of her life insurance policy, Li drove a Porsche Boxster and also owned a property which she was trying to sell to make a profit of $181,000.
The prosecution said it was at this property where Pierre Legis ran a massage service which also 'on occasion' provided 'sexual services.'
The court heard that some customers, who responded to an advert on Gumtree, paid for the sexual services of Rui Li and that Pierre Legris was present and participated.
The prosecution said that the defence put forward by Pierre Legris was that a 'disgruntled' customer may have followed Li home and murdered her while her husband was out.
The prosecutor said that Li was murdered at her home after suffering a blunt force trauma to the back of her head. “Such was the nature of the wound that she would have been expected to have bled extensively,” said the prosecution. “No such heavy weapon has been found and in addition very little blood was found at the scene - it suggests a thorough clean-up has been done to prevent blood from escaping to the scene nearby.”
After the murder the victim's body was in fact placed in Pierre Legris' Ford Transit van, which his son worked on the following day.
The body was later transferred to the Fiat Punto, owned by his son and driven to another location where Li was found a week after she was killed.
Prosecutors said after the killing Pierre Legris was “cool and focused and clear in what he was doing, not rushed or in a panic, he had a plan and it involved others, his son, Jonathan Legris and his other wife Irene Smith.”
Adding: 'The fact is the three of them were involved in a conspiracy to kill.'
