The man charged with murdering former MP Ann Widdecombe is accused of hitting her 21 times with a hammer and taking her wallet, a court heard.
Joshua Kerry, 28, is alleged to have arrived at the Reform UK spokeswoman’s remote bungalow in Haytor, Devon, shortly after midday on Wednesday 8 July.
A doorbell camera captured the suspect’s red Vauxhall Corsa pulling up outside the property, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
A camera positioned in the hallway showed the 78-year-old politician sitting down eating lunch in the kitchen before the defendant entered via the front door and asked her: “Don’t suppose you have bank cards and ID?”
He is then alleged to have struck her 21 times on the head with the hammer before tipping her out of her chair and on to the floor.
Ms Widdecombe was discovered face-down on the kitchen floor the following day by a gardener, who had been asked to check on former Conservative prisons minister after she missed an interview scheduled with Channel 5.
A provisional cause of death was given as a “blunt force injury to the head”, the court heard.
Mr Kerry, who was arrested days later at his home more than 300 miles away in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, appeared wearing a grey prison-issue tracksuit. He sat with his arms folded and spoke only to confirm his name during the brief hearing.
A hammer and black gloves – on which Ms Widdecombe’s DNA was found – was recovered during a search of bins outside his property, prosecutor Kashir Malik said.
Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring told the defendant: “You are charged with an offence of murder which can only be tried in the crown court.”
He was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey this afternoon.
Announcing the charges on Monday, Counter Terrorism Policing head Laurence Taylor said that establishing whether the attack was politically motivated remains an “active avenue of investigation”.
“I want to make it very clear that our investigation into this individual, determining his motivations and any wider activity he may have been involved in is continuing,” he said in a statement delivered outside Scotland Yard.
“Given Ann Widdecombe’s profile and the targeted nature of the attack, determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation for our detectives. And as with all murder investigations, understanding the why is a key part of our inquiries.”
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