"Guilty of Murder" Newhaven murder verdict

A man who killed a young couple at their home in Newhaven has been found guilty of their murders.

Derek Martin walked into Brighton Police Station on the evening of 9 June, 2023 and told officers: “I’ve killed two people.”

He admitted causing the deaths of Chloe and Josh Bashford, but denied murder due to diminished responsibility resulting from a depressive disorder.

A jury found him guilty of two counts of murder on Friday 24 October following a three-week trial at Lewes Crown Court, sitting at Brighton.

He has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on 6 November.

The court was shown CCTV clips of Martin going about his normal routine before the incident occurred. This included ordering a drink at Costa in Newhaven and going for breakfast with Chloe, 30, at The Stonehouse restaurant in Peacehaven.

Later they returned together to the Bashford family home in Lewes Road, Newhaven, where Chloe and Josh lived with their four children.

Murdered couple 

In a police interview, Martin confessed he had been cleaning a window at the property when he “just flipped” over a row about money with Chloe.

He struck her over the head with a hammer then stabbed her to death.

Martin said that Josh, 33, arrived home a short while later and saw him with a knife in his hand. Josh ran upstairs but was chased by Martin, who repeatedly stabbed him then strangled him to death.

The 67-year-old, of Moulsecoomb Way, Brighton, then changed his clothes, picked up the couple’s four children from school, and took them to both Costa and McDonald’s in Newhaven.

During this time, he discarded Chloe’s mobile phone in bushes of the nearby Sainsbury’s.

He returned the children to their grandmother’s house in Brighton, then bought some beers from a shop in Whitehawk which he drank on the seafront.

Shortly afterwards, he handed himself in at the police station.

Officers attended the Bashford family home where they discovered the bodies of Chloe and Josh, and Martin was arrested.

The court heard Martin and Chloe became close a couple of years ago. Martin had been known to Chloe as he was previously married to her mother, but they had divorced some years before she was born.  

While he was remanded in custody, Sussex Police issued a public appeal to help find Chloe’s mobile phone. Martin saw the appeal and passed a hand-written note to a prison guard, which confirmed where he had discarded the device.

This contained vital evidence which was subsequently used in the trial.

Detective Chief Inspector Kimball Edey, of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: “I would like to thank Chloe and Josh’s children and their families for their patience during this investigation. It goes without saying how sorry I am that they have had to suffer the loss of Chloe and Josh, and I am in awe at the courage and strength they have all shown following the events of 9 June 2023. The result today will, sadly, not change what happened, but I hope that it will enable them to end this chapter and move onto the next.

“I would also like to thank the members of the public who have supported this investigation.

“Finally, I commend the many members of staff and police officers who have worked tirelessly to help bring Derek Martin to justice.”