Ex-landlord says man accused of India Chipchase murder '˜did not want to touch things that were dirty'

The former landlord of the Northampton man accused of murdering India Chipchase has told a jury his tenant was a 'loner' who could be 'very hard to get away from' once he started talking.

Alan Freeman, the owner of 6 Stanley Road, in Northampton gave evidence on the fifth day of the trial of Edward Tenniswood, aged 52, who is accused of raping and murdering Ms Chipchase, aged 20.

Birmingham Crown Court heard Tenniswood moved in to Mr Freeman’s property in January 2010 after he was put in touch with him via one of his other tenants.

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Mr Freeman described Tenniswood as a “loner” who never talked about his family or friends.

He told the jury that Tenniswood liked to wear latex gloves and was “meticulous” about things.

Mr Freeman said, despite the fact his tenant did “not want to touch things that were dirty”, he once gave Tenniswood notice to improve the cleanliness of the property.

The court heard Tenniswood would take notes of his conversations with Mr Freeman and would embark on long conversations with him when he visited the house.

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Mr Freeman said: “It could be very hard to get away from him sometimes, in a nice way.

“He would keep on talking and talking and it would be quite hard to stop him unless you were rude and just walked away.”

Tenniswood denies charges of rape and murder. The trial continues.

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