A man accused of murdering an artist and hiding her remains in a freezer claimed Dame Joanna Lumley had agreed to be patron of a guinea pig sanctuary as he sought to cover his tracks, a court heard.

George Gordon, 65, admits killing 'eccentric' free spirit Delia McInerney, 62, at his flat in St Helens, Merseyside in April 2023 – just days before she was due to start a new life in Portugal.

He claims he acted in self-defence after she attacked him with a knife. But the prosecution allege Gordon's actions were premeditated and motivated – at least in part – by 'financial gain' after he went on to steal thousands of pounds from her bank account.

He also killed her beloved guinea pigs and put their bodies in the freezer before sending text messages and emails posing as Ms McInerney to make it appear she was still alive, a jury has been told.

Less than a month after her death, Gordon – also known as Chris – used her phone to contact one of her friends claiming he had been invited to King Charles's coronation, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

'Believe it or not, Chris has got an invitation to the coronation of that shape-shifting lizard on Saturday and got me a ticket as a carer to look after him,' the message read.

'For the last 40 years, he's been getting Christmas cards off him. If he thinks I'm curtsying to him, he can f*** off.'

Using his own phone, Gordon messaged contacts to state that he was 'in London for the coronation', jurors were told.

Three days later, on May 7, the court heard another message was sent from Ms McInerney's phone to a friend describing how they had arrived at Westminster Abbey at 7.30am the day before.

'When we got there, they decided Chris' wheelchair was too wide for the space allocated, so they stuck us at the very back of the section that all the actors and luvvies had been placed in,' the message read. 

'As we were leaving, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley appeared in front of us and both of them called out to Chris.

'I thought he had been bulls***ting me about knowing them.'

But it 'turned out' that Spike Milligan had 'introduced' them to Gordon, it read.

The message also said that actress Dame Joanna had 'agreed to be a patron of my guinea pig sanctuary'.

Before her death, Ms McInerney used to stay with Gordon when she was not travelling abroad or at her house in Anfield, Liverpool.

She had been preparing to move to Portugal along with her guinea pigs to start a 'new life', the court has heard.

Following her death, Gordon allegedly messaged her contacts in Portugal falsely claiming she was in a coma and could no longer travel there.

Over the next year and a half, Gordon allegedly stole money from Ms McInerney's accounts and took out loans and credit cards in her name.

The prosecution allege his 'web of lies' began to unravel in December 2025 after a council official contacted benefits staff to raise concerns about her welfare.

It led police to Gordon, who jurors have heard has a previous conviction for fraud.

When officers arrived at his flat in January this year, he told them: 'She's in the freezer.'

They subsequently found her dismembered body along with those of her five guinea pigs – named Wogglet, Timmy, Freddie, Lilly and Sammy – in a chest freezer.

Evidence suggests that Gordon hit Ms McInerney – whom he had described as his 'soulmate' – over the head with a hammer, the prosecution say, and drowned her pets.

Opening the case for the prosecution last week, Martin Reid KC said that for 'over 18 months' Gordon 'lied' to Ms McInerney's friends about her whereabouts and sometimes 'pretended' to be her in messages.

'Unbeknown to them, but known very well to the defendant, Delia McInerney had died in April 2023 at the defendant's hands,' he added. 

'The defendant admits that he killed Delia McInerney but claims, we understand, that he acted in self-defence.'

Gordon denies murder and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal after allegedly drowning five guinea pigs.

The trial continues.