Corby man Charlie Adair ‘murdered’ by man he met 'randomly' on weekend away with pals in Skegness

Corby man Charles McGhee Adair was ‘used as a cash cow’ by a man he met while visiting Skegness for a music festival, a court has heard.

On the opening day of a trial at Lincoln Crown Court yesterday (January 9), a jury was told Mr Adair was allegedly murdered by homeless man Anthony David Robertson who he ‘randomly’ met in the street before the pair spent a night together drinking and buying drugs – funded by Mr Adair.

The 59-year-old was found dead close to a Tesco supermarket in Skegness on July 3, 2023. Robertson was arrested shortly afterward and subsequently charged with his murder and the robbery of his wallet and bank card.

Mr Adair had serious head injuries including ’extensive’ fractures and six deep lacerations to his face which a pathologist said had been caused by ‘multiple’ blunt force traumas.

The jury heard from prosecuting barrister Jonathan Cox that Mr Adair, a beloved partner, dad, grandad and friend, had gone to the seaside town for the weekend with pals. But after being refused service at the festival because he was too drunk, he left.

He went back to his B&B but in the early evening of July 2 he refused an offer to go back out with his friends and instead left alone for Skegness town centre.

His pals later told police that despite his intoxication he had been in ‘good spirits’ and had chatted to many people he met in the street earlier in the day.

While walking through Skegness at just after 8.30pm that evening, he bumped into Robertson, 32, of no fixed abode. The pair were shown on CCTV meeting in Grand Parade before chatting and walking off together.

Mr Cox said: “Having latched on to Mr Adair, the defendant saw him as a ‘cash cow’. He set out to exploit his generosity.”

The jury were shown footage of Mr Adair and Robertson going to various addresses in Skegness by taxi, and then to Buster’s Fun Pub in Grand Parade.

CCTV showed Robertson sitting outside on the terrace using Mr Adair’s phone several times, allegedly to try to buy drugs.

Mr Adair then withdrew £50 from a machine in the town centre, watched closely by Robertson.

They went to a park in the centre of Skegness where they bought drugs from one of Robertson’s associates. Mr Cox said: “The night, their expenditure that evening, drugs, drink, food, was almost exclusively funded by Mr Adair.

"At the time Mr Robertson was a drug addict. He had nothing notable to fund a night out.”

It’s alleged that in the early hours of the morning Mr Adair told Robertson he’d lost his phone – his only means of contacting his friends. He had also lost his B&B keys and didn’t know where he was staying.

At 5am the pair returned to an Asda they had visited earlier so Mr Adair could look for his lost phone, which the prosecution alleges Robertson had already stolen.

CCTV showed Charlie Adair looking around a low wall outside the supermarket to try to locate his phone.

Mr Cox said: "This is a ruse instigated by the defendant. He was trying to help the man who had been so generous to him to find his phone. But he wasn’t, he’d stolen it.”

At 5.40am the pair were spotted on CCTV walking into scrubland behind a local Tesco store, a well-known area for drug-taking. That was the last time Mr Adair was seen alive. Nearly an hour later footage showed Robertson leaving the scrubland alone before walking into Tesco and buying four pre-mixed cocktail cans using cash he had allegedly stolen from Mr Adair.

A shop assistant helped him with the self-service till.

"Mr Adair had been left unconscious. At no point did he bring the plight of Mr Adair to the attention of that shop assistant,” said Mr Cox.

Mr Adair’s body was found later that day in the scrubland by a different drug user.

The prosecution say he’d been beaten to the head so badly that his injuries had killed him. The court was told Mr Adair had suffered six ‘full thickness’ lacerations to his head and face, his nose was broken, he had ‘extensive’ fragmented fracturing and depression on the bones of his skull, which extended to the sides and base of his skull.

"His skull had been fractured and then, following another blunt force trauma, had been fractured again,” said Mr Cox.

"He had also suffered severe traumatic brain injury, including bleeding to the brain, bruising to the brain, lacerations to the brain and shearing of nerve fibres.

"The post-mortem examination showed injuries consistent with multiple blunt force traumas. The fracturing and the brain injury suggest multiple severe impacts to the head.”

Mr Cox told the court that Robertson knew Mr Adair was due to return to Corby that morning and so his behaviour had ‘escalated’ to ensure he could steal Mr Adair’s bank card before he left.

The prosecution allege that while in the scrubland he had stolen Mr Adair’s wallet containing his bank card. His mobile phone was later sold to one of Robertson’s friends.

Mr Cox added: “Over the following hours he’d used (the card) to withdraw cash from the bank account of Charlie Adair, the man he had beaten.

“The mobile telephone, that was stolen by him earlier in the evening, demonstrates that this defendant set out to profit from Mr Adair.”

Several members of Mr Adair’s family watched yesterday’s proceedings from the public gallery wearing green ribbons attached to their lapels.

Robertson denies murder and robbery. The trial continues.