Samuel Prime-Fearon claims he was listening to music in his bedroom when Ferell Benjamin was killed

A man accused of murdering a father found dead in his bathroom told police he was in his bedroom listening to music at the time of the killing, a court heard.

Samuel Prime-Fearon, 25, of Burton Road, Kilburn, is said to have beaten 38-year-old Ferell Benjamin to death after he was abducted from his home in Edgware.

Mr Benjamin’s was discovered in a pool of blood in the bathroom of the social services hostel where Prime-Fearon was living on November 14, 2010.

He had been savagely beaten and tortured with hot water, it is alleged.

Prime-Fearon, along with Craig Smith, 23, from Harrow, and Tex Crawford, 20, of no fixed address, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of Mr Benjamin’s murder.

It is claimed Smith and Crawford, together with Tasheika Campbell, 22, kidnapped him before driving to the hostel, where they were let in by Prime-Fearon.

But in a police interview, Prime-Fearon claimed he had returned to his bedroom earlier in the day and remained there until the next morning.

He said he had not used the bathrooms in the hostel for months and, asked about the possibility he had let his co-accused in, said it was commonplace to find strangers in the building.

He told officers: “One time I tried to use the bathroom and there was blood from floor to ceiling.

“The house has always had history. When you want to know how a dead body got there, ask the rest of the people in the house.”

Prime-Fearon denied knowing any of his co-accused or Mr Benjamin during the interview.

Smith and Crawford both deny conspiracy to rob, kidnap, false imprisonment and murder.

Prime-Fearon denies false imprisonment and murder.

Campbell, from Harrow, denies conspiracy to rob and kidnap.

The trial continues.