Michael Bretton, 41, of Shaftesbury, Dorset, was convicted by a unanimous jury of killing Craig Hurcombe, 39, in Gurney Slade, Somerset, on January 1. Bristol Crown Court heard Bretton ambushed Mr Hurcombe at his work before stabbing him – leaving a fatal injury likened to the type seen in a “historical battle”.
After the murder, Bretton attempted to burn Mr Hurcombe’s clothes and body before burying him in a shallow grave in nearby woodland. Judge William Hart sentenced Bretton, who worked in a chocolate factory, to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 29 years and six months.
Craig Hurcombe was killed with a sword© Avon & Somerset Police/PA Wire
The judge said Bretton’s claims during his trial that Mr Hurcombe, a lorry driver from Devizes, Wiltshire, had died in an accident were “wholly fabricated”.
“It was an account which, both in its content and in the way you told it, convinced me that you are a very dangerous man with an obsessive personality,” he told Bretton.
“You are entirely self-centred and portrayed a person who was sorry for yourself in a way that was obscene.”
Judge Hart said he was “entirely satisfied” that it was correct to describe the murder as an assassination. During the trial, jurors were told how Mr Hurcombe had been in a relationship with a woman called Kate Saunders for years until they separated in 2023.
Two years later, Ms Saunders and Bretton met through an online dating website and had a casual relationship. She then rekindled her relationship with Mr Hurcombe, with Bretton “motivated by jealousy”, the judge said.
Screengrab taken from bodyworn video showing the arrest of Michael Bretton,© Avon & Somerset Police/PA Wire
Bretton began to stalk and track Mr Hurcombe’s movements, fitting a tracker to the couple’s cars. On January 1, Bretton used the “cover of darkness” and dark clothing to hide at Mr Hurcombe’s work, Blanchard’s yard.
“You took with you a most fearsome weapon, a samurai sword,” the judge said. “You went there intending to murder him and you did exactly that. You took him by surprise. You slew him. He tried to fend off the sword but it was hopeless and in vain.”
“You thrust the blade through almost the full thickness of his body, the most extraordinary injury. The sort of injury more associated with historical battle than modern-day life.”
Bretton then dragged Mr Hurcombe’s body away, stripped him of his clothes and buried his body in a shallow grave. He took Mr Hurcombe’s Sim card from his phone, using it to communicate with his concerned family and friends for the next 10 days.
The judge described the evidence against Bretton as “compelling” but highlighted one mistake he made as sealing his fate. “I hope it haunts you,” the judge told him. “I very much doubt you are haunted by what you did to Craig.”
Craig Hurcombe’s burnt out car© Avon & Somerset Police/PA Wire
This mistake was Bretton driving his mother’s car – complete with a tracking system that recorded journeys travelled – to a bridge where he disposed of the sword. Police later downloaded the journeys from the vehicle and discovered he had stopped for three minutes by the River Stour near the town of Sturminster Newton.
Divers attended the scene and recovered the sword, which a pathologist later confirmed could have inflicted the fatal wound on Mr Hurcombe. Mr Hurcombe was reported missing by his mother, Nicola Hurcombe, on January 10. His body was discovered on January 14.
Pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffery, who carried out a post-mortem examination on Mr Hurcombe’s body, concluded he had died from a single stab injury which penetrated through his torso.
In a victim impact statement, Mrs Hurcombe described how her son was hard-working and much loved by his family and friends.
“The fact my son has been murdered feels like the end of the world to me,” she said. “Craig didn’t deserve this in anyway whatsoever. He was a wonderful, kind and decent person and had been that way all his life.”
Screengrab taken from CCTV showing Craig Hurcombe waving to the camera© Avon & Somerset Police/PA Wire
In a direct address to Bretton, she described him as “a vile, deluded, despicable individual who is nothing more than a heartless, cold-blooded murderer”. Ms Saunders told the court her devastation at Mr Hurcombe’s death was “visceral”.
“Michael Bretton, I will never forgive you for what you have done,” she told Bretton. “No punishment that you will receive will ever compare to the pain you have inflicted on me.”
Representing Bretton, Andrew Langdon KC said his client had served in the Royal Navy for five years and had been supported during his trial by his mother and sister. Speaking after the case, Detective Inspector Neil Meade, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: “Bretton is one of the most dangerous individuals I have ever dealt with.
“His behaviour, including the stalking of Kate and the extraordinary lengths he went to in order to control and influence both Craig and Kate’s lives, was deeply disturbing.
“The level of planning and premeditation behind Craig’s murder was horrific. Throughout the investigation, Bretton appeared almost arrogant in the extensive measures he took to cover his tracks and evade responsibility.”
