A MURDER accused told detectives she saw co-defendant Gary George stab the alleged victim and twist the knife before performing a ritual.

Christine Holleran has pleaded not guilty to murdering Andrew Mackenzie Nall, 54, in his Chester flat, while George admits playing his part in the killing but also denies murder.

Mr Nall of Eversley Park, suffered 49 stab, cut and slash wounds, including unusual marks to his face and torso, as well as rib injuries.

Prosecutors believe the victim was tortured and cite George’s interest in witchcraft and horror movies but are convinced the pair were ‘in it together’.

Holleran, who said she had been in a relationship with the deceased, told detectives when interviewed: “What I saw was Andrew laying on the floor, with his top off. Gary George was kneeling up against him, inserting a knife, twisted it, pulled it out and done something like that with it – he was doing a ceremony thing.”

She later clarified that George motioned an S-shape above Mr Nall’s body with the blade.

Holleran continued: “It was weird. After he released the knife I went ‘What are you doing?’. I panicked a bit. He said ‘It’s too late’. He said ‘I have just killed him. Get rid of the body’.

“He left and I went and got the police. After he gave me a bit of a whack as well.”

The prosecution challenges Holleran’s claim she did not see all of the attack on the night of August 30 and that George was solely responsible. The Crown points to a blood spot found on her coat.

The court also heard there were huge gaps in her memory until police arrived the following evening when the body was discovered, which she blamed on drink.

Holleran told police George was interested in witchcraft and would put curses on people. “He thinks he’s a witch,” she said.

And she recalled how about five months before the fatal incident George poured a bottle of bleach over her face while on the Rows after she offended a friend of his and was relieved not to lose her sight.

The trial continues.

A JURY was shown camcorder footage of an alleged murder victim’s mutilated body shortly after watching a clip from a horror film to draw out the supposed similarities.

The real life video was made by crime scene investigators in the flat of Andrew Mackenzie Nall, 54, of Eversley Park, Chester, who was stabbed to death after allegedly being tortured.

Horror film lover Gary George, who admits the killing but denies murder, watched intently from the dock of Chester Crown Court as the camcorder film was shown on screens around the courtroom.

But co-defendant Christine Holleran, who also denies murder, could not watch and sobbed throughout.

Relatives of Mr Nall also left the public gallery although a group of students remained to watch the video in a tense atmosphere.

The battered body of Mr Nall could be seen in the half-light, lying on his back, with no top and with his jeans pulled down slightly, leaving his genitals exposed.

Shallow, parallel, linear cuts were visible on the left side of his bloody face. Prosecutors allege there was a ‘strange’ wound carved into his abdomen and have described how someone ‘drew in a bizarre way’ upon his body.

The lid from an emptied Saxo salt container could be seen just above Mr Nall’s head with salt found all over the victim’s body suggesting it had been thrown into his wounds.

Parallels were drawn with an Australian horror film The Loved Ones, which George had apparently taken a particular interest in.

A torture scene from the certificate 18 movie was played to the jury in which a male character, restrained in a chair, has salt thrown into a heart-shape wound and initials carved into his chest.

Prosecutor Ian Unsworth QC has previously told the hearing: “In a chilling precursor to what befell Andrew Nall, one scene in that film depicts a man being stabbed on multiple occasions, his chest having a letter carved into his chest before salt is thrown on to the wound.”

A SUBSTANCE misuse worker recalled murder accused Gary George asserting that going to prison would help him overcome his drink and drug dependencies.

David Howells, who worked out of Aqua House in Boughton, supported both George and his alleged victim Andrew Nall.

Mr Howells recounted how George drank ‘excessive amounts’ and he regarded him as a potential risk to his own safety because he could become confrontational.

He recalled: “He said, to the best of my knowledge, that it would be much easier if I went to prison but ‘I won’t get long enough’ was what I remember him saying.”

By contrast, Mr Howells found Mr Nall, an alcoholic, to be ‘calm’ and never felt threatened by him. He described him as ‘lost’ in his addiction and ‘trying to break the cycle’. But Mr Howells added: “For some reason he couldn’t get to where he wanted to be.”

He recalled Mr Nall turning up at one session with a black eye, just 10 days before his dead body was found, saying he had suffered the injury during ‘an attack in town’.

“He mentioned there was a female staying at the property and also that he didn’t really want her to be there as the other person used to drink a lot and was not helping him in his quest to become alcohol free.”

A HOMELESS man who knew all three people involved in the case said the victim told him Christine Holleran could be aggressive when drunk.

Liam Smith, 31, a recovering alcoholic and heroine addict, told Chester Crown Court he was living at the Roodee House homeless shelter in Chester at the time of the alleged murder of Andy Nall, who he knew as ‘Scottish Andy’.

He described Mr Nall as a ‘pleasant’ and ‘quiet’ man who he would drink with on the street on a regular basis, including about 10am on the day he died, when he also met Holleran.

Asked if Mr Nall had ever talked about her, Mr Smith replied: “He said once she’s had a drink she became aggressive towards him and became difficult and violent towards him.”

Mr Smith said he had seen ‘a couple of bruises’ on his face and ribs.

He explained that he himself referred to Holleran, who was also drinking on the day, as ‘Christine’ or ‘mother’. All three of them were ‘getting drunk’ that morning.

Mr Smith, who has connections with Frodsham, also said he had known Gary George for a long time and Gary knew his family. George had always been OK with him but he had heard rumours about him being aggressive towards others.

DEFENDANT Gary George told police he'd 'murdered a paedophile' when arrested, but the defence and prosecution agreed the victim had no convictions of a sexual nature.

When interviewed by detectives, co-defendant Christine Holleran was asked if anybody, including George, had ever accused Andrew Mackenzie Nall of being a paedophile. She confirmed she had never heard such a claim against the man she called her boyfriend.