Man, 83, convicted of stabbing nephew 11 times in Gosport inheritance row

Alan Wotton, 83, was found guilty of murdering Andrew Avery, 65, at a house in Gosport after a dispute over inheritance money. Sentencing is set for 22 October.

Gosport murder: elderly man guilty of killing nephew before setting fire to home

An 83-year-old man has been convicted of murdering his nephew following a dispute over inheritance money, The Independent reports. Alan Wotton was found guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court of killing 65-year-old Andrew Avery at a property in Exmouth Road, Gosport, Hampshire, on 29 November 2024.

Avery had been helping Wotton move out of the house after it was sold and had arranged alternative accommodation for him. On the day Wotton was due to leave, he attacked Avery with a kitchen knife, inflicting 11 stab wounds. Avery died from his injuries.

Wotton then deliberately started fires inside the property before leaving his nephew in the smoke-filled house. Fire investigators identified three separate seats of fire, all concluded to have been started deliberately. Wotton had previously pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life is endangered.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said the attack followed "a dispute over inheritance money and his impending move from the property." Wotton had claimed self-defence, but the prosecution demonstrated he was the aggressor.

Senior crown prosecutor Simon Clark said the case was built on witness accounts, forensic evidence and admissions made by Wotton himself in the immediate aftermath of the murder. "Andrew Avery had been helping his uncle and arranging for his future," Clark said. "Instead, he lost his life in a horrific and wholly unnecessary act of violence."

Clark added that the prosecution's thoughts remain with Avery's family and loved ones, expressing hope that the verdict provides them with "some measure of justice."

Wotton is due to be sentenced on 22 October.

Source: The Independent