The daughter of a James Bond actor poisoned with a chemsex drug discovered his lifeless body after she unwittingly spoke to his killer on the phone, a court heard.
Eric Michels, 54, was found dead at his home in Chessington, Surrey, after being given the drug by Gerald Matovu, 25, the day before, it is claimed.
Matovu and his lover, Brandon Dunbar, 23, are on trial accused of drugging or spiking the drinks of Mr Michels and 11 other men to steal their valuables and use their bank cards.
Matovu used a syringe to administer a fatal dose of GHB to Mr Michels before making off with his bank card and other belongings in August last year, the Old Bailey heard today.
Mr Michels’ 14-year-old daughter texted her father shortly after his death, asking if he would like to go for a meal before she went away on holiday.
When he did not reply, she tried again and Matovu, allegedly impersonating Mr Michels, replied: ‘Hello hun im a little busy talk soon’, the court heard.
The unfamiliar tone of the message alerted the teenager who rang up to find out what was happening. Matovu hung up after she told him who she was, the court heard.
Concerned for her father’s safety, she asked her mother to drive her to his house and found him ‘lying motionless in bed with the duvet pulled up’, prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said.
He added: ‘She attempted to rouse him by shouting his name but to no avail. Her mother then entered the property and pulled the duvet off his face to reveal that Mr Michels had dried blood and green bile near his lips. He was not breathing.’
An empty 3ml syringe without a needle attached was found on the floor beside the bed.
DNA from the victim and defendant was identified on it as well as traces of GHB, the court heard.
The Old Bailey has heard Mr Michels and his wife of 23 years divorced after he realised he preferred young males to women.
Since coming out as gay, the victim, who worked on the leadership team of a large energy company, had a number of long-term relationships, the court was told.
But more recently, he had become lonely and began going to Soho and using Grindr to find younger men, jurors were told.
On the evening of August 16, he visited Ku Bar and G-A-Y Bar in Soho before making contact with Matovu via Grindr, jurors were told.
Mr Michels invited him to his place in south-west London for sex, the court heard.
While there, it is claimed the defendant drugged Mr Michels and took photographs of his bank cards, driver’s licence and other personal information while he was dead or unconscious.
In the morning, Matovu set off in a taxi to Dunbar’s address with a suitcase and bottles of alcohol, jurors were told.
Mr Rees said Matovu took Mr Michels’ MacBook, mobile phone, an initialled black case, American driving licence and various cards.
Mr Michels was one of 12 men targeted by Matovu and his lover Brandon Dunbar, 23, over a 19-month period, it was claimed.
Opening their trial, Jonathan Rees QC said: ‘The prosecution say that the defendants, often working together, took advantage of hook-ups, dates, arranged with other gay men through apps, such as Grindr, to steal their property and take photographs of their bank cards and other identification documents for the purposes of fraud.
‘In the course of their activities, a number of their targets were drugged to facilitate these dishonest activities and one of those, a 54-year-old male, was killed by an overdose of a substance called gamma hydroxybutyrate – GHB.’
Nine of the twelve men met both Matovu and Dunbar and three only met Matovu alone but all twelve were the victims of dishonesty, Mr Rees said.
‘Two of them had items stolen and photographs taken when they were in the shower with Dunbar while they were being distracted,’ he continued.
‘One of them took his trousers off to have sex, and while his trousers were off, photographs of documents were taken from inside the trousers.’
One of the alleged victims, a 53-year-old man, whose full identity cannot be reported for legal reasons, asked both Matovu and Dunbar to visit his home in east London.
‘He used a gay pick up site called Adam for Adam to invite two people to his house, which he was renting with his partner who was working that evening and wasn’t himself at home,’ Mr Rees said.
‘Shortly after their arrival all three went upstairs to the bedroom. The complainant accessed some pornography on his laptop, and he was handed a drink by Gerry.
‘He thinks it was either a Fanta or Coke. He then fell unconscious after taking the drink.’
