Father-of-four accused of killing date after lacing her vape fluid with potent painkiller Oxycodone at seaside chalet
17 January 2023, 11:11 | Updated: 17 January 2023, 11:17
A father-of-four has appeared in court, accused of killing his date at his beachside chalet after lacing her vape fluid with potent painkiller Oxycodone.
Christopher Downes, 53, stands accused of manslaughter of his date, Kim Harrop, 55, after she was found dead in his bed.
Harrop began speaking to the father-of-four online via dating website two or three weeks prior to meet in person, with the pair later travelling back to Downes' seaside chalet, located at Humberston Fitties, Lancashire.
Later in the date, it's alleged Downes laced her vape with the powerful drug he had "stockpiled".
Downes' previous girlfriend, who died from cancer early that year, regularly used Oxycodone to treat her pain - with Downes admitting to being in possession of the drug.
Downes denies manslaughter.
Appearing in Sheffield Crown Court, Downes said he had "no reason whatsoever" to kill his date, denying he was later "over-keen" to find out her cause of her death.
The prosecution claims that Miss Harrop died after ingesting drugs, after a coroner's report later revealed traces of Oxycodone had been found in her blood toxicology report.
Paramedics were called to the chalet on April 22 where they attempted to revive Ms Harrop, however, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Downes told the court: "After the ambulance people had tried to save Kim's life, they called in the police because it was an unexplained death."
Blaming the delay in calling 999 on the fact he "did not have a working phone", Downes claims both of his phones were out of battery at the time.
It's alleged by the prosecution that Downes used this time to delete information from his device.
Downes, however, claimed: "I have no memory of deleting anything whatsoever from my phone. When the police arrived, I made them fully aware of everything I knew that had happened during that date."
Downes, who has four daughters aged between 30 and 11, grew up in the Humberston Fitties area.
Police later visited Downes' home on June 14, 2018, where they found a bottle of Oxycodone.
Defence barrister Naeem Mian KC asked Downes whether he in any way administered or gave Oxycodone to Kim.
Downes replied: "Absolutely not."
Mr Mian then asked: "Were you taking Oxycodone yourself?"
Downes then explained that he had previously suffered from recurring tooth abscesses and "on a few occasions" took Oxycodone to ease the pain.
Downes did however admit to going into Miss Harrop's purse and taking a photo of her driving licence.
The trial continues
