Briton on trial for Dordogne murder of golf course owner

There, he created Les Mirandes Golf and Country Club, whose 18-hole course he
designed himself, and which served fish and chips and other British-style
food. Dordogne is home to around 20,000 Britons.

Mr Ludlam had moved out from England weeks before the murder, living in a
caravan in the grounds of the property where Mr Fuller lived alone. He was
employed to conduct maintenance jobs, gardening and restoration work.

On Tuesday, Fuller’s ex-wife, Wilhemina Jans, recounted her shock at finding
her dead ex-husband lying face down in a pool of blood on June 27, 2009 –
the day after his murder.

Walking around the house, she said it was clear there had been a terrible
struggle as there were blood stains on the walls and floors of several rooms
and in the kitchen sink and the bar, and that there was broken furniture and
smashed glass.

Two of Fuller’s cars were missing – one was later found crashed nearby.

Police said traces of blood were found on two knives, in Mr Ludlam’s caravan
and on his clothes.

He immediately became the prime suspect.

Eye witnesses who encountered him the day after the murder said he had acted
suspiciously, appearing agitated and saying he desperately needed to reach
an airport.

British police apprehended Mr Ludlum at Luton airport as he stepped off a
flight from Bordeaux and a month later, he was extradited back to France.

Mr Ludlam’s lawyer had previously argued that his client had run away in a
panic as he did not speak French and thought he could better explain himself
in the UK.

On Tuesday, the accused said the fight started when he took offence at Fuller
saying he would like to sleep with his mother. Mr Ludlam said he then
enraged his employer by calling him a bad father as his son was a heroine
addict and in prison at the time.

Miss Jans, however, urged the court not to pay much heed to Mr Ludlam’s
testimony as he was a “liar, a cheat and a drunkard”, while her
ex-husband was “easy going, even tempered and didn’t like confrontations”.

Outside court, Mr Ludlam’s lawyer Philippe de Caunes, said: “While he
doesn’t remember everything, he regrets his act and is still at a loss as to
how he could have done such a thing given that he considered the victim his
friend.”

A court psychological report found that Mr Ludlam, whose parents divorced when
he was aged one, had a “poorly structured personality including quite
marked borderline traits”, but found no mental illness suggesting
diminished responsibility.

He faces a maximum 30-year prison term if found guilty.

The trial continues.

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