Presenter Was Killed By "Loner", Court Hears

A "loner" with a "fixation" on celebrities was responsible for the death of BBC television presenter Jill Dando, a court has been told.

The Old Bailey heard that Barry George, 48, lived out his celebrity fixation by pretending to be the late Queen vocalist Freddy Mercury's cousin.

Prosecutors in the case have alleged that Mr George approached women in west London and tried to find out where they lived.

Jonathan Laidlaw QC, said Miss Dandos died at the hands of a "loner" who had "no rational motive to kill".

Mr Laidlaw also said that Mr George had "a history of complex medical problems".

Miss Dando was shot in the head as she arrived at her home in Gowan Avenue, Fulham, in April 1999.

Miss Dando presented shows such as 'Crimewatch', the Holiday programme and the news.

Mr George, who appeared in court with clinical psychologist Dr Susan Young, is facing a retrial for the murder. He was originally tried in 2001.

Presiding over the case, Mr Justice Griffith Williams told the jury of eight women and four men that the case should be tried only on the evidence they would hear in court.

Miss Dando, from Weston-super-Mare, had been due to marry Alan Farthing in September 1999.

(DS/KMcA)