Spalding man pleads guilty to murder

A 36-year-old man has pleaded guilty to murder and perverting the course of justice.

Sam Church had originally denied the charges, following the death of Vincent Markham at a property in Whaplode Drove, near Spalding.

Emergency services had received several reports of a fire at the property and an injured man in the front garden, shortly after 1am on 7 August last year.

The man, who was later named as 52-year-old Mr Markham, from the Spalding area, sadly died at the scene.

Initially it was believed that he had died as a result of the fire. However, it later became apparent that he had sustained a facial injury, with a post-mortem examination concluding that Mr Markham had died as a result of an assault.

Suspect Sam Church, aged 36, of Acacia Avenue in Spalding, was located with burn injuries at the junction of Broadgate.

Church told a member of the public who came to his aid that he had tried to get someone out of the fire. He was taken to hospital to be treated, but following his release was arrested and charged with murder and perverting the course of justice.

Detective Inspector Adrian Czajkowski, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “Our investigations revealed that Church had assaulted Mr Markham before starting the fire. This was a very tragic incident and our thoughts are with Mr Markham’s family.”

Church has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on 14 April at Lincoln Crown Court.