Remorseless couple horrified seaside town by dumping dismembered remains of murder victim

This is the "remorseless" couple who were involved in the disposal of the body parts of a dismembered man in suitcases and packages that horrified a coastal town after they were discovered over several weeks.

Benjamin Atkins, 49, killed Simon Shotton, of the same age, at their home in Bournemouth in August 2023, following a dispute over just £30, Winchester Crown Court heard.

He was jailed for a minimum of 19 years yesterday, Friday, July 26, for murdering the lodger and scattering his severed body parts in packages and a suitcase.

Atkins' partner, Debbie Pereira, 39, was jailed for four years for perverting the course of justice and preventing the burial of a corpse after she aided him in the disposal.

People in Bournemouth, Dorset, reeled in horror last year as partial human remains were found by a member of the public near a path leading down to a beach in Boscombe, Dorset.

Mr Shotton's legs were disposed of on the Manor Steps Zig Zag footpath at Boscombe seafront in August 2023.

The trial heard how a member of the public was sheltering under a tree when a package containing the human remains landed beside her.

Next month, the victim's arms were found in the couple's garden in Aylesbury Road, and his torso was discovered in a suitcase at Boscombe Chine Gardens.

Skull fragments were also found in Walpole Lane in February 2024.

Judge, Mrs Justice Stacey, said Atkins' actions were "gruesome" and "shockingly callous".

She told the jury that Mr Shotton died two weeks after being allowed to stay in a tent in the couple's garden, paying daily rent in drugs instead of cash.

But, a fight broke out between the two men after Atkins stole £30 from Mr Shotton's wallet and used it to buy more drugs.

She said killed Mr Shotton by repeatedly stabbing him and using a loudspeaker to smash his head in.

"The violence you used was ferocious, unnecessary, wholly out of proportion. You were by far the stronger. He was not a threat to you," she said.

After the killing the couple sold Mr Shotton's phone and shoplifted a hacksaw together, the court heard.

Later Atkins took "copious amounts of various drugs" and cut up the body and started a fire in the garden, lasting for several days, attempting to dispose of Mr Shotton's head.

Pereira also spent several days cleaning a blood-spattered utility room before Atkins painted it, the court heard.

Neither defendant had shown genuine remorse, the judge said.

Atkins was even recorded in a police van telling his girlfriend he would kill again, the court heard.

He said: "I'll look 'em straight in the eye and say: 'Yeah. I'd do it again and again and again. If you let me go today, I'd find another one and do it again.'

"'Drug dealers and pushers. Kill, decapitate and eat the [expletive term]."

Mr Shotton's son Wesley spoke of his horror at what was done to his father after the murder In a victim impact statement read to the court.

He said: "Dad used drink and drugs to escape the battles in his mind.

"I just loved our time together. I was every bit my daddy's boy."

DCI Neil Third said: "It is shocking to think such a small amount of money can result in the loss of a person's life".