A KILLER has lost a bid to appeal his conviction over the death of Winchester resident Carl Scott.

David Gray, 37, was sentenced to an indeterminate hospital order after being found to have unlawfully killed Mr Scott.

Mr Scott’s body was found at his home in Birch Court, Thurmond Crescent, Stanmore, on March 22, 2017.

Gray, who was charged with murder, was deemed unfit to enter a plea before his trial and instead a trial of the facts was held and a jury was tasked with deciding whether Gray had “unlawfully killed” Mr Scott.

Gray has since applied for leave to appeal his conviction, but the Court of Appeal has refused it.

As previously reported, Winchester Crown Court was told during the five-day trial Mr Scott was left to die after being attacked with an ornamental ‘tomahawk’ axe and stabbed five times in the back.

The jury was told how the 37-year-old was discovered several weeks later by a friend who had grown concerned.

Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue told the court a cocktail of drugs may have been a factor.

He also said that the injury to the head was caused by a heavy object with a “well-defined edge” and “it would have required severe force”.

Prosecutor Kerry Maylin told the court how Gray, of no fixed abode, had spoken with a number of people about the death, including one who, Ms Maylin said, he had “confessed his responsibility” to.

The court heard that Gray allegedly told the witness a number of graphic details about the death, including how he had stabbed him, while the pair were smoking crack cocaine together at Mr Ediss’s flat.

Gray was detained under the Mental Health Act the day before Mr Scott’s body was discovered, following an incident in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral.

After being confronted by officers at Trinity Winchester’s base, the court heard that Gray, who had schizophrenia, fled to Winchester Cathedral, where officers said he held a metal cross above his head.

Ms Maylin told the jury that before and after the death of Mr Scott Gray had undergone reviews by a mental health team, who found nothing to cause them concern at the time.

However, while detained, the court heard Gray had called police a number of times in which he repeated that he had been taken hostage by Mr Scott. Gray will now continue to serve an indeterminate hospital order.