Overview
- A jury at Bristol Crown Court unanimously convicted Michael Bretton of murdering Craig Hurcombe and Judge William Hart sentenced him to life with a minimum term of almost 29 years on Friday, 31 July 2026.
- Prosecutors said Bretton went to Hurcombe’s workplace on New Year’s Day to confront him and carried out a premeditated killing driven by jealousy over Kate Saunders.
- Forensic evidence presented at trial included a Home Office pathologist’s finding of a single, catastrophic horizontal stab wound, CCTV placing the victim at the yard shortly before his death, and a rusty samurai sword later recovered from the River Stour.
- The court rejected Bretton’s claim that Hurcombe died by accident and heard that Bretton buried and burned the body and clothes, set the victim’s car alight, and used Hurcombe’s SIM card to impersonate him after the killing.
- Detective evidence showed Bretton fitted trackers to the victims’ cars and a tracker on a vehicle he used helped police link him to the river where the sword was dumped, highlighting how cheap tracking devices can escalate stalking into deadly violence.