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'Psycho Stapleton', a Briton standing trial for the murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve in the United Kingdom had checked into a hotel near the crime scene and joked to a friend that the police would not be able to find him, a court heard on Thursday.
Kiaran Stapleton, 21, who identified himself as 'Psycho Stapleton' at an earlier court hearing, admits manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility, but denies murder. Bidve, 23, was murdered on December 26 last year in Salford.
The trial for his murder is at the Manchester Crown Court and is being attended by his parents who have arrived from Pune. The trial was told on Thursday that after the shooting, Stapleton and his friend Ryan Holden exchanged several text messages, which were read out in court.
Holden, who was with Stapleton during the shooting, is now a prosecution witness.
CCTV footage from the hotel in which Stapleton checked in was shown. During the stay in the hotel, he repeatedly looked out to see the crime scene and watched television to monitor developments related to the incident.
The court was told that Stapleton was arrested at 1:30am on December 29 at a house in Leigh, Greater Manchester. When told he was being arrested on suspicion of murder, he
reportedly said: "Fu***** hell, getting woken up like that. Did you say suspicion?...You are just pulling in everyone from the area. I have a got a job, me. I work nights, I was in the area."
Bidve and eight other students at Lancaster University were in Manchester for Christmas and were en route to queue for the Boxing Day sales in the city centre when Stapleton approached them, asked for the time, and then without warning gunned down Bidve.