13/07/96 - Secret hoard of
Sophie accused
The Mirror
The man accused of raping and strangling seven-year-old
Sophie Hook admitted yesterday he collected girls' knickers.
Unemployed Howard Hughes also said he clipped pictures
of youngsters from catalogues.
But he had nothing to do with the killing of Sophie,
who vanished while camping with three other children
in a garden. He said he had cycled along a path behind
Sophie's uncle's home in Llandudno, but never went into
the garden.
Hughes, 31, was giving evidence for the first time
in his murder trial at Chester Crown Court.
He agreed he had few friends of his own age and spent
time with boys in their early teens.
Hughes, of Colwyn Bay, said he had found a nightie
and knickers which turned out to be Sophie's but he
thought the bundle was a T-shirt.
He told the jury he had no teeth because "I never
clean them." He also said he would wear one pair
of jeans for weeks.
The court heard taped evidence by a cousin of Sophie's
who was given the tent where they slept as a ninth birthday
gift.
On the tragic night he woke at 2.30 and "felt"
she was there but at 6.20 her sister said she'd gone.
The case continues. |
