He reportedly told police that he 'just lost it' before the attack
Derek Martin, a man accused of murdering his former stepdaughter Chloe and her husband Josh Bashford in 2023, is on trial.
On Monday, Oct. 6, Martin, 67, appeared in Brighton Law Courts in Brighton, England, to stand trial for the June 9, 2023 murders of Chloe, 30, and Josh, 33, according to reporting by the BBC, The Telegraph, U.K. publication The Times and ITV.
Martin confessed to killing Chloe and Josh, parents of four young children, in their home in Newhaven, East Sussex, England, less than seven hours after committing the crimes. However, in court, he is pleading guilty to lesser charges of manslaughter and denying charges of murder.
The accused argued that he was not guilty of murder due to diminished responsibility, having told police he "just lost it" before attacking the woman who still thought of him as her stepfather, despite her mother and Martin being divorced.
Julian Evans, who is prosecuting the case, told the court that Chloe was killed first at approximately 12:15 p.m. local time.
"He attacked Chloe with a hammer. He hit her with the hammer on the top of her head. Then he went to the kitchen to retrieve a large knife. Having done so, he repeatedly stabbed Chloe with that knife, causing severe injuries from which she died," Evans said in court, per the outlets.
Continuing, he alleged, "He stabbed her eight times, to the upper back and to the abdomen. Two stab wounds penetrated to a depth of about 20cm [nearly 8 inches]. The knife caused severe injuries from which Chloe died."
Josh was not home at the time of the attack. However, he arrived minutes later at around 12:20, Evans said.
Martin is accused of meeting him at the door with a knife and chasing Josh into the bedroom that he shared with Chloe. He was then stabbed and strangled to death, Evans said. Per BBC, the weapon used to strangle Josh is believed to have been a belt or rope.
After committing the crimes, Martin is said to have placed the bodies in two bedrooms, which he removed the door handles from.
The man, who was viewed by Josh and Chloe's four children as a grandfather, then changed his clothes and picked up some of the children from school. He then met the others at Costa Coffee in Peacehaven.
Per The Times, Martin told the children that Josh and Chloe had an argument. Instead of taking them home, he dropped them off at the home of their maternal grandmother, his ex-wife Elaine Sturges, in Brighton.
In a text message he sent Elaine, he wrote, "Elaine I'm so sorry, I can't believe what I've done, I know everyone hates me anyway especially the boys, I hate myself anyway and please, please look after the children really well."
He urged her not to "take the children home" and informed her that he was "about to walk into the police station."
Less than seven hours after the killings took place, Martin walked into Sussex Police Station in Brighton, where he confessed to committing the killings. Before doing so, ITV reported that he disposed of Chloe's phone, which he had with him.
On June 10, 2023, Martin told police about the crimes, with Evans citing the interview in court on Monday.
"He said that he felt he was getting 'used' all of the time. He could not do enough for people, and he had got into a lot of debt himself as well," he said, via ITV.
The Times noted that he had loaned Chloe approximately $800, which she was paying back. Meanwhile, the BBC reported that Martin was nearly $11,000 in debt. His debt was mainly due to gambling. The outlet noted that Chloe had reportedly paid down on her loan and only owed approximately $200 at the time of her death.
"I don't know, I'd just had enough, it's just constant, money, money, money, go out, go out, go out..." he told the police when asked why he committed the murders, according to The Times.
Martin has been evaluated by five psychiatrists, according to ITV, and was found to have "a depressive disorder at the time of the attacks." BBC reported that he had been off antidepressants for approximately six months at the time of the incident.
Speaking to a doctor, he reportedly said that Chloe was a dedicated mother but struggled with spending, saying that she "overspent all the time," The Times reported.
In court on Tuesday, Oct. 7, psychiatrist Dr. Seena Fazel testified that Martin said he did not intend to commit the killings.
Per The Times, Chloe and Josh's oldest son, Brooklyn Bashford, is now 18. He told the police that Martin, whom he referred to as a grandfather, had a "bad temper."
In court, Evans announced that there is "no dispute" that Martin is responsible for the murders, noting that the "issue is his state of mind at the time."
Martin's trial will continue for approximately three weeks.
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After confessing to the police, the BBC reported that Martin appeared in Lewes Crown Court in August 2023. The outlet noted that he pleaded guilty to lesser charges of manslaughter but denied charges of murder in relation to the killings. He was due to return to court that November.
However, in May 2025, Josh's mother, Sharon Bashford, told the outlet that the case had been delayed five times.
Deeming the delays "cruel," Sharon said that they have negatively affected her family who are unable to "move on with our lives," adding, "We're tired. We're finding it difficult to cope. We don't sleep, we just exist."
PEOPLE reached out to the Crown Prosecution Service and Sussex Police for additional information about the crime and current court case. The former was unable to comment due to the trial being ongoing.