Man found guilty of murdering cousin with axe in East Sussex
Rita Lambourne, 58, was found "fatally wounded" by her sister at an address in Bexhill on February 12
A man who liked to "have the last word" has been found guilty of murdering his cousin with an axe.
Rita Lambourne, 58, was found "fatally wounded" by her sister at an address in Bayencourt South, Bexhill, East Sussex, on February 12.
Donald Excell, 49, of Seabourne Road, Bexhill, was convicted of her murder at Hove Crown Court.
On Friday afternoon, the jury reached a unanimous guilty verdict after just over four and a half hours' deliberation.
Excel went into the house through an unlocked back door before striking Ms Lambourne with an axe at least four times.
Jurors heard from Ms Lambourne's sister, Claire Haldane, about Excell falling out with Ms Lambourne.
"He liked to be more intelligent and have the last word but my sister would always challenge him and that he didn't like," said Ms Haldane.
Ms Lambourne and Excell fell out over a year before the attack after he said he believed some of the family were facilitating a paedophile ring, the court heard.
Ms Haldane told jurors about an argument when Excell had been "raging" and hitting her sister's car.
"She said she was scared, she was terrified, she wasn't sure what he was going to do, but she wouldn't show him she was scared," said Ms Haldane.
Excell was also convicted unanimously of having an offensive weapon in a public place.
For the majority of the murder investigation, police were unable to find the axe, or the clothes the killer is seen wearing on CCTV.
In September, teenagers fishing just north of Bexhill found a rucksack in the water with clothes and the sheath of an axe weighed down with a sandbag, the court heard.
Ms Lambourne had been on the phone with her partner moments before the attack and he heard shouts as she dropped her phone, the court heard.
He called Ms Lambourne's daughter Lucy, who in turn called Ms Haldane to go and check on Ms Lambourne.
Ms Haldane discovered her sister in the front room of her house and started CPR.
Lucy Lambourne remembered her aunt saying: "Oh my god, you need to get down here, mum's been smashed up, love, call an ambulance."
Excell will be sentenced on March 12.