THE stepbrother of Becky Watts closed his eyes when he dismembered her with a circular saw before placing her body parts in a freezer, he told a jury today.
Nathan Matthews, 28, is accused of murdering the 16-year-old at her home in Crown Hill, Bristol, on February 19 with his girlfriend Shauna Hoare, 21.
Bristol crown court previously heard the pair, who allegedly share an interest in petite teenage girls, targeted 5ft 1in Becky in a sexually motivated kidnap plot.
They allegedly suffocated Becky in a violent struggle in her bedroom, placed her body in the boot of their car and drove it to their home in Cotton Mill Lane, Bristol.
Becky’s remains were discovered in a garden shed in Barton Court – around 240ft from their home – on March 3.
Matthews, along with Karl Demetrius, 30, and his work colleague James Ireland, 23, allegedly moved the body parts in the early hours of February 24.
Former TA soldier Matthews claims he killed and dismembered Becky without the knowledge or involvement of Hoare, his partner of six years.
He told the court that after killing Becky, he moved her body into a red suitcase, which he dragged down the stairs and into his car.
The following day he dropped Hoare at Becky’s family home, then purchased a £80 circular saw, gloves, goggles and masks.
Matthews claimed he moved the body of Becky, who weighed nine stone, to his bath and dismembered it.
He told the court: “I closed my eyes, had the saw in one hand.”
No marks were found on the bath, which Matthews said was because he was holding the saw in one hand and Becky in the other.
He added: “I wasn’t slow, I was just rushing and doing what I had to do.”
Matthews said dismembering Becky and packaging the eight body parts in cling film, bags and tape was a lengthy process.
He said: “I did take a while, yes. Not very lengthy, because that makes it sound like it was five or six hours or something stupid.”
The court heard Matthews used cling film to wrap Becky’s body parts so they did not smell, then moved the packages from the bathroom.
Matthews said: “I put some of it in the freezer and the other bit in the box.”
He said he promised Demetrius, who arranged for Ireland to bring a van on February 24, £10,000 to store items for him.
Both men arrived at Cotton Mill Lane and Demetrius put packages from Matthew’s loft into a suitcase.
They drove the suitcase, along with other cases and a blue box, to Demetrius’s home nearby and unloaded them into his shed.
Ireland allegedly told friends the length of the packages and said they felt soft, but Matthews said he could not have known.
He said: “Unless Karl told him about it. Like I said, Karl explaining the length of the things coming out of the loft.
“I am pretty sure that’s the only thing they saw and touched as in items inside the suitcases.
“Unless the front room door was open and they saw me getting items out of the freezer.”
Earlier, Matthews told the court he came up with a plan to kidnap Becky to “shock and scare her” as she was rude to his mum Anjie Galsworthy.
He claimed he placed a “kidnapping kit” of handcuffs, a stun gun, clear tape and a white mask into the boot of his Vauxhall Zafira before driving to her home with Hoare.
When they arrived, Hoare went to smoke a cigarette – which he claimed usually took her 15 to 25 minutes – and he fetched the kit before going to Becky’s bedroom.
Matthews said it would have taken a “maximum of five minutes” to kidnap Becky due to the “fear and shock” it would cause her.
He claimed Becky would not have been able to recognise him as he was wearing a beanie hat, mask and used a deep voice.
Prosecuting, William Mousley QC asked: “Isn’t it the truth that you are lying about the fact that you had a mask on?
“That’s something you made up to try to help your suggestion that this was just a little prank that went wrong?”
Matthews said: “I definitely had a mask. Because then there would have been a massive struggle.
“The whole point was to shock and scare her, not to know it was me. I didn’t want to kill her.”
He told the jury he later threw the mask and his blood-stained beanie hat in a bin near a bus stop.
Jurors were shown the red suitcase Matthews claimed he used to put Becky’s body in and later store in his front room.
When asked to look at it, Matthews replied: “I don’t want to.”
He refused the suggestion he had sexually touched Becky before or after killing her.
A post-mortem examination found Becky suffered multiple injuries before death, suggesting she fought violently for life.
Matthews said he accidentally killed Becky after using a trick he learned in school to make people pass out.
The court heard Matthews has made no attempt to contact Becky’s family and express remorse for her death.
Matthews, of Hazelbury Drive, Warmley, South Gloucs, denies murder and conspiracy to kidnap.
He admits killing Becky, perverting the course of justice, preventing the burial of a corpse and possessing a prohibited weapon.
Hoare, of Cotton Mill Lane, Bristol, denies murder, conspiracy to kidnap, perverting the course of justice, preventing burial of a corpse and possessing a prohibited weapon.
The residents of the Barton Court property, Karl Demetrius, 30, and his partner Jaydene Parsons, 23, admit assisting an offender.
Donovan Demetrius – Karl’s twin brother – of Marsh Lane, Bristol, and James Ireland, 23, of Richmond Villas, Avonmouth – a work colleague of Karl’s – deny the charge.
Trial continues.