Darren Pencille, 35, sketched in the dock today, where he sat on the floor and said he was ‘hearing voices’ as he appeared accused of murdering Lee Pomeroy in front of his son
The suspect accused of knifing to death an IT consultant on a London-bound train in front of his young son hid in the dock today after telling the court he was ‘hearing voices’ and feeling ‘paranoid’.
Darren Pencille, 35, from Farnham, Surrey, is accused of stabbing Lee Pomeroy, 51, nine times on the South Western Railway service from Guildford to Waterloo last Friday lunchtime in an attack caught on CCTV.
Pencille’s girlfriend Chelsea Mitchell, 27, allegedly drove him to safety as he fled Clandon Station and helped change his appearance as police hunted for him.
There was speculation at the weekend that a ‘trivial’ row broke out between Pencille and Mr Pomeroy after the pair accidentally bumped into each other as they boarded the train.
Today the murder suspect decided to sit on the floor of the glass dock at Staines Magistrates’ Court, claiming he was ‘hearing voices’ and was ‘too paranoid’ to stand up.
Wearing a grey tracksuit and black, thick-rimmed glasses, Pencille was heard muttering ‘get me out of here’ to the two security guards flanking him.
As he was taken away he told chair of the bench Helen Mattey: ‘I’m innocent until proven guilty’.
Darren Pencille, pictured, is accused of stabbing Lee Pomeroy, 51, nine times on the South Western Railway service from Guildford to Waterloo last Friday lunchtime
Chelsea Mitchell, 27, (left) appeared in court (right in a sketch today) and is accused of helping Pencille get away from the scene in her car and helping change his appearance
Mr Pomeroy, who would have celebrated his 52nd birthday on Saturday, was with his son (pictured together) on a trip to London when he was knifed
Pencille decided to sit on the floor of the glass dock (pictured) at Staines Magistrates’ Court, claiming he was ‘hearing voices’ and was ‘too paranoid’ to stand up when the judge told him to
Chelsea Mitchell ducks down in her prison van as she is swept from Staines Magistrates’ Court today and taken to Guildford Crown Court for her hearing this afternoon
Darren Pencille, 35, and his girlfriend were swept into Staines Magistrates’ Court today where they appeared in connection with the murder of Lee Pomeroy
Pencille, who is charged with murder and possessing an offensive weapon, did not enter any pleas and said he had no fixed abode.
But police said when they charged him on Sunday he lived with Chelsea Mitchell, 27, who was also before magistrates accused of assisting an offender.
Both appeared again at Guildford Crown Court this afternoon and they were remanded in custody to appear again at the same court on February 7.
Police suspect she helped Pencille escape the Home Counties village of Clandon after he fled from the train minutes after the attack.
The charge states the mother-of-one also helped to change his appearance on January 4 as police were hunting for him.
Today it emerged that officers were called to Pencille’s home on Thursday – less than 24 hours before the appalling attack after neighbours complained about his anti-social behaviour and said he was banging on their doors aggressively.
Pencille and Mitchell were arrested during a dawn raid by armed officers at their housing association flat in Farnham, Surrey, on Saturday morning.
Neighbours said the couple were unemployed, often noisy and kept their curtains shut almost constantly.
Pencille, who was born in London, appears to have a 16-year-old son from a previous relationship.
Forensics officers were seen examining an ageing small blue car parked close to the flat which is believed to belong to Mitchell.
Investigators are believed to have traced Pencille using a combination of ticket information, mobile phone data and CCTV footage from Clandon station and its surroundings.
One neighbour claimed that the night before, the ‘scary-looking fellow’ Pencille had banged repeatedly on his front door.
The neighbour said: ‘I don’t know why… I had never spoken to him before. I have to admit it was intimidating.’
Mr Pomeroy’s Russian widow Svetlana (pictured) told friends she came to Britain because she admired how ‘civilised’ it was. The 50-year-old was supported by police family liaison officers
Pencille and Mitchell were arrested in a raid on this flat in Farnham and the mother-of-one’s blue Vauxhall Corsa (pictured)
The murder suspect fled into the surrounding Clandon area – just one stop into the Surrey to London journey (pictured is Horsley Station, where the train pulled in)
Witnesses said Lee Pomeroy suffered multiple wounds after an attack on a train following a three-minute argument.
His grieving family are struggling to come to terms with his death, which came just one day before his 52nd birthday.
It later emerged his Russian widow had told friends she moved to the UK because she admired how ‘civilised’ it was.
Mitchell (pictured) allegedly helped her boyfriend get away from the train where he is accused of murdering a fellow passenger
Former journalist Svetlana Pomeroy, 50, who is being supported by police family liaison officers, was too upset to speak.
But 12 years ago, she wrote online: ‘I love how people here wish to be hospitable, how they smile, how they take care of nature. People still tend to build families, plus there are laws to support women.’
The couple married in 2001 and Mrs Pomeroy moved to the UK from the remote Russian region of Chukotka. In her post, she described their son – then a toddler – as a ‘sweet boy’.
Police arrested the suspect at a housing association flat occupied by his girlfriend Chelsea Mitchell in Farnham on Saturday morning.
Mitchell, who is originally from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Officers suspect she picked him up and drove him the 15-mile journey home after he fled the commuter train service covered in blood shortly after 1pm on Friday.
Mr Pomeroy was attacked minutes after both men boarded at London Road station in Guildford.
The suspect is said to have fled the carriage at Clandon, the next stop on the route.
Police were alerted to the stabbing at Horsley, the following stop.
Investigators do not know exactly what caused the row between the two men but believe it could be as petty as bumping into each other.
Villagers later said they saw a man wandering in fields while using his mobile phone. Bloody handprints were left on a wooden gate and a police sniffer dog was used to try to trace him after he abandoned his jacket nearby.
Police officers remained at Hosley train station near Guildford, Surrey at the weekend (pictured) as they carried out investigations
Pencille, 35, was sketched in the dock today (pictured left), as was Chelsea Mitchell (right)
It is understood investigators used a combination of ticket details, mobile phone records and CCTV from the station and nearby streets to identify him.
Outside Mitchell’s home at the weekend, neighbour Grant Christy described how police stormed inside at around 6am. He said the arrest followed a confrontation on Thursday night in which the suspected killer had banged on his front door.
Mr Christy said: ‘I told police he had previously started banging on my door and then, at around 9.15pm on Thursday, he started doing it again.
‘My wife looked through the keyhole and it was him again. My next-door neighbours have been driven out by all the drama.
‘They only moved in in the summer and they have managed to upset everyone. There’s always a spat about her parking in other people’s spots.
‘But usually they’re just sat in with the curtains drawn.’
Other neighbours said the couple were often noisy and kept their curtains shut almost constantly.
In a statement released via police, Mr Pomeroy’s family said: ‘Lee took his son on a trip to London hoping to spend some quality time with him which was cut short by an horrific and pointless attack.
‘It has emerged that in the moments leading up to the violent killing, both men appeared to be involved in an altercation lasting three minutes.
‘Lee would have had his birthday today but did not get to see his presents. He was an honest, bright person, who loved music very much.
‘He was a devoted family man and did everything for his family. He was a loving husband and father. He will be deeply missed by all his family.’
Police evidence markers are seen on a gate near West Clandon station in Surrey – where the suspect left the Waterloo bound train after a passenger was stabbed to death
A close up of the fence near West Clandon station in Surrey shows blooded fingerprints
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