CCTV shows suspect in headless murder

A photograph of the man suspected of cutting up a friend with a Samurai sword was released by police yesterday, showing him moments before he fled to New York.

Richard Markham is wanted in connection with the murder of Tristian Lovelock, whose head and body parts were found last Friday strewn around a housing estate in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

The photograph was taken from a surveillance camera at Heathrow Airport and shows Mr Markham, 27, clutching his boarding pass while waiting for his flight on Friday morning. He took a taxi to the airport and bought a one-way ticket for New York.

Mr Lovelock, 25, was bludgeoned to death at Mr Markham's home in St. Nicholas Court, Basingstoke, last Thursday evening. His body was dismembered with a Samurai sword and his head hidden underneath a hedge in a nearby park.

His legs were found in the same park and his right arm in a neighbour's garden. Police discovered his torso and the other arm at Mr Markham's terraced house. Mr Lovelock, an unemployed carpenter, was separated from the mother of his two children. He was last seen alive at 8pm on Thursday, drinking with Mr Markham.

Detective Superintendent John James, who is leading the hunt, has sent an international arrest warrant to police in New York, advising them the suspect poses a serious risk. A taxi driver who took Mr Markham to Heathrow on Friday said he seemed calm.