A drugged-up German art dealer aged 31 allegedly beat his British friend to death with a candlestick after becoming convinced he was an alien, a court has heard.
The man, who we are referring to as Mr X, was apparently high on cocaine and the horse tranquiliser ketamine when he attacked Alex Morgan, 23, (pictured) at a Swiss chalet. The pair had met while studying in London.
The shocking incident allegedly happened during a skiing holiday in December 2014. Mr Morgan was stabbed with a shard of glass from a coffee table and hit with a 3ft candlestick weighing 13lb, a 4lb gold sculpture and an antique figure, a Swiss court in Meilen has been told.
The accused man has claimed that after returning to the chalet with Mr Morgan during a snowstorm they took drugs and discussed “the end of the world”. He refused to reply when asked why he had said that his friend had “turned into a little green man [alien]” who tried to kill him and that he later claimed to be suffering amnesia.
Mr Morgan grew up in a wealthy family in London and was described as an accomplished sportsman.
His mother, Katja Faber, said in a statement: “My darling Alex deserved to live a good, amazing life, to bring love, laughter and originality to this world, not to be bludgeoned to death. A huge part of me was ripped violently out of my being when the police told me Alex had died, and that part has left such a gaping hole that sometimes it’s all I can do to keep breathing.”
A Swiss prosecutor has dismissed Mr X’s defense that he involuntarily killed Mr Morgan during a psychotic episode and is seeking to have him convicted of reckless homicide.
Forensic psychiatrist Professor Elmar Habermeyer said that Mr X had been dependent on ketamine, cocaine and sleeping pills since 2011.
A lawyer for Mr X said before the trial: “The accused could not foresee the act at the time of taking the drugs.”
The case continues.
