Derek Martin hit Chloe Bashford over the head with a hammer before stabbing her to death and he then stabbed and strangled her husband Josh
A Crystal Palace FC fanatic and his wife were brutally murdered in their home by her stepdad who ‘lost it’ and ‘flipped’ in a row over money because he felt he was getting ‘used’ all of the time and was in debt. Parents-of-four Josh Bashford, 33, and Chloe Bashford, 30, were killed in “in quick succession” with a hammer and knife by Derek Martin, 67, who then went and picked up two of their children from school.
Martin, of Moulsecoomb Way in Brighton, was reportedly “close friends” with Chloe having been previously married to her mum, but they had divorced some years before she was born. On the day of the horrific double murder Chloe had referred to him as ‘stepdad’ in a text to a friend when she went for breakfast with Martin.
They then went to the Bashford’s home in Newhaven, East Sussex, on June 9, 2023. In a police interview, Martin would later confess he had been cleaning a window at the property when he “just flipped” over a row with Chloe. He struck her over the head with a hammer and then stabbed her eight times.
Josh was a lifelong fan of the Eagles and at his funeral his casket was draped with a Crystal Palace flag and loved ones wore Palace tops with “Josh 33” on the back.
He arrived home shortly after Chloe was murdered to find Martin with a knife in his hand. Josh ran upstairs but was chased by Martin, who repeatedly stabbed him and then strangled him to death.
After killing the couple, Martin collected two of their children from school and met all four children in a Costa Coffee before taking them to their grandmother’s house. He then bought some beers which he drank on the seafront before turning himself in at Brighton police station.
The Bashford’s eldest son described Martin as a “grandfather figure” and said he was “easy to be around”, but added that he had a “bad temper” and could “switch up” easily.
Martin admitted manslaughter of the couple but denied murder over claims of diminished responsibility because of a mental episode. On Friday (October 24), jurors at Brighton Law Courts rejected Martin’s claims and found him guilty on both counts of murder.
Prosecuting, Julian Evans KC said: “Chloe and Josh were attacked and killed in quick succession. Both attacks took place inside their home address. Chloe was attacked first. When she was attacked, Chloe and Derek Martin were in the house together. Josh was not there at the time, he was about to arrive at home.
“At about 12.16pm Derek Martin attacked Chloe with a hammer. He hit her with the hammer on the top of her head. Then he went to the kitchen to retrieve a large knife and having done so, he then repeatedly stabbed Chloe with that knife, causing severe injuries from which she died.
“At about 12.20pm Josh arrived home. Just after he entered the house, Derek Martin attacked him. In the course of the attack, Derek Martin repeatedly stabbed Josh with a knife and compressed his neck with a ligature, causing injuries from which he too died.”
Martin removed the handles from the doors of the bedrooms in which the bodies were lying, changed his clothes and took the doorbell camera off the front door, the court heard. Later, after stopping to dispose of Chloe’s phone in a bush near a Sainsbury’s, and drop off the children, he went into the police station and said: “I’ve murdered two people.”
Mr Evans recounted the interview in court: “He said that he felt he was getting ‘used’ all of the time. He could not do enough for people, and he had got into a lot of debt himself as well. Then he said that he ‘just lost it’ and he ‘just flipped’. He hit Chloe on the head with the hammer. He did not know what had happened.
“He said that Josh came in the door. He (Martin) was behind the door. He said that Josh saw him with the knife in his hand and he ran upstairs. Martin followed Josh upstairs and Josh ran into the bedroom.
“He said that he remembered stabbing Josh. He stabbed him somewhere in the front of his body. He did not know how many times he stabbed him.”
Five psychiatrists had been instructed to assess whether Martin could use the diminished responsibility defence. Jurors did not accept his case and unanimously found him guilty of the murder of the young couple after almost six hours of deliberation.
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 June 9, 2023.
“The court verdict will, sadly, not change what happened, but I hope that it will enable them to end this chapter and move onto the next.” Martin will be sentenced on November 6.
Sign up to our London Crimewatch WhatsApp community for the latest major court updates and breaking news delivered straight to your phone. Sign up HERE.
