Police chief 'tried to blame love rival for arson attack' - court

Senior officer on trial charged with arson, fraud and perverting course of justice

NEWBURY'S former top cop, Chief Supt Jim Trotman, torched his own car and tried to blame his love rival before making a fraudulent insurance claim, a jury heard today (Monday).

Hours earlier, the 45-year-old father of two confessed to a colleague that he had been having an affair with the wife of a top lawyer, Swindon Crown Court was told.

Chief Supt Trotman, who is seperated from his wife, is alleged to have doused his Citroen Picasso in petrol before setting it ablaze near the home of his married lover, Karin Gray of Woodhouse in Bedswell Heath, Boarshill.

He denies charges of arson, perverting the course of justice and two counts of fraud.

Fiona Elder, prosecuting, said the drama unfolded on October 20, 2009.

She added: "On that day the prosecution says Mr Trotman set fire to the car registered to him, although still owned by the finace company, and destroyed it. On that evening Mr Trotman went to the home address of Karin Gray where she lived with her husband Ian Gray who was away on business, something known by both Karin Gray and Mr Trotman.

"Mr Trotman had earlier that evening been to Wallingford to see his daughter appearing in a play and left there, travelling to Boars Hill where Karin Gray lived, parking his car outside Karin Gray's house. Little of that is in dispute. What happened after that, is.”

The jury heard that, much earlier in the day on October 20, the senior officer had approached colleague Det Supt Ashley Smith and confessed to having a 20-month affair with a married woman.

He told the fellow officer that he was concerned about a number of emails that he had been receiving, the first of which was sent on October 14, 2009.

One email, from the sender Iangray666, said: "Woodhouse remains out of bounds for you Mr Trotman."

The jury heard that the threatening emails were later traced to an open computer at a leisure centre in Surrey and had been sent by the partner of a friend of Mrs Gray's.

Chief Supt Trotman was advised to be careful of his personal safety and to stay away from Woodhouse where Karin Gray lived - advice he ignored, the jury was told.

At 10.30pm a 999 call was made from a nearby house reporting that a car was on fire and the court heard that at 11.30pm a man approached the police officers who were assisting the fire brigade at the scene saying: “That is my bloody car."

Ms Elder said: "The man appeared shaken and agitated and gave his name as Jim Trotman. He did not identify himself as a police officer. He said that he had been seeing somebody he shouldn't but asked the officer to keep that between him and his crew mate.”

She added that Chief Supt Trotman did tell the officers that there might be somebody with a greviance against him but refused to go into further details.

The prosecution allege that he was talking about Ian Gray, a partner in London solicitors Eversheds.

Ms Elder told the jury: "(Police) had been given information by Mr Trotman about Mr Gray and something he mentioned in the months that followed when talking about Mr Gray and his concerns that he might be an arsonist.

"He was told about the proposed arrest of Mr Gray before the arrest. He did not encourage it but he did not make any attempt to dissuade Detective Superintendent Smith."

Mr Gray was later released on bail and charges were never brought against him.

The jury was also told that Chief Supt Trotman, who lives at Abingdon Marina, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, had viewed Thames Valley Police's Command and Control System and researched a number of car fires that had taken place close to the home of his lover.

He had also used his computer the day before the fire, to research Audi motorcars.

The court heard that he subsequently bought at Audi A4 convertible with the £19,700 insurance money he received from the fire.

Jurors were told that detectives had examined Chief Supt Trotman's mobile phone records and Ms Elder said: "The movement of the phone put Mr Trotman at the scene of the car fire at the time that the fire was ignited."

She said that police found a green petrol can in woodland near the scene, which Chief Supt Trotman said he had left in the car.

He had not parked the car in the usual place outside Mrs Gray's home but in a nearby road and he had needed to cut through woods to reach her house.

Chief Supt Trotman worked in the West Berkshire area for three-and-a-half years before leaving for Oxford in 2005.

The case continues tomorrow and the trial is expected to last three weeks.