British killer Derek Martin was convicted of killing the children’s parents while bringing them to McDonald’s

A terrifying moment shows a man taking children to McDonald’s – after having just killed their parents.

Derek Martin was found guilty on Friday of murdering Chloe Bashford and her husband Josh at their home in Newhaven, East Sussex, in June 2023.

The 67-year-old, who was previously married to Chloe’s mother, told police he was cleaning a window at the property when he “just flipped” over a row over money.

Sussex Police said he hit the 30-year-old on the head with a hammer and then stabbed her to death.

Josh, 33, arrived home a short while later and saw him with a knife in his hand, so he ran upstairs before being repeatedly stabbed and strangled to death.

Martin, from Brighton, then changed his clothes, picked up the couple’s four children from school, and took them to both Costa and McDonald’s in Newhaven.

CCTV shows the killer taking the children outside and disposing of Chloe’s mobile phone in the bushes of a nearby Sainsbury’s supermarket.

He had told the children that their parents had fought, and removed all the doorknobs in their house, so that if the couple’s children returned home, they would not be able to find the bodies.

Martin took the children back to their grandmother’s house in Brighton, then bought some beer from a shop in Whitehawk and drank it on the seafront.

Shortly after, he turned himself in to the police station, where the footage showed him saying: “I killed two people.”

Officers attended the Bashford family home, where they discovered the bodies of Chloe and Josh, and Martin was arrested.

While on remand, Martin saw a police appeal and sent a handwritten note to a prison guard, which confirmed where he had disposed of Chloe’s phone.

Martin admitted causing the couple’s deaths, but denied murder due to diminished responsibility resulting from depressive disorder.

After hearing all the evidence during the three-week trial, including reports from five psychiatrists, the jury at Lewes Crown Court rejected Martin’s claim of diminished responsibility and convicted him of two counts of murder.

He was remanded in custody and is scheduled to be sentenced on 6 November.

Chief Inspector Kimball Eddy, of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: “I would like to thank Chloe and Josh’s children and their families for their patience during this investigation.

“It goes without saying how sorry I am that they had to suffer the loss of Chloe and Josh, and I am in awe of the courage and strength they have all shown following the events of June 9, 2023.

He added: “Today’s result, unfortunately, will not change what happened, but I hope it will enable them to close this chapter and move on to the next.”

“I would also like to thank members of the public who have supported this investigation.

“Finally, I pay tribute to the many crew members and police officers who worked tirelessly to help bring Derek Martin to justice.”

Marco Brock, for the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “This has been an extremely difficult case to prosecute.

“Derek Martin’s claim that he ‘lost it’ when he killed Chloe and Josh was not linked to the evidence of what happened on that fateful day. Martin waited for Josh to return home and chased him upstairs when he did, before attacking him.

“Martin then had the presence of mind to clean up the scene and do everything he could to ensure Josh and Chloe’s children did not find out what had happened to their parents, before handing himself in to police and admitting what he had done.

“In such cases, the main evidence comes from expert psychiatrists.

“It required significant additional investigation to carefully scrutinize the initial position taken by some expert psychiatrists in arguing that Martin had a partial defense of diminished responsibility.

“This means the case has taken a long time to go to trial, and we appreciate the additional distress this has caused to Chloe and Josh’s family and friends.

“We are extremely grateful to them for their patience and support during this difficult time and hope that today’s rulings will bring them some comfort.”