Shocking moment murderer tells cops he ‘suffocated’ landlady, 74, before hiding ‘what remains of her’ in storage unit
THIS is the shocking moment a killer tells cops he suffocated his 74-year-old landlady and hid her remains in a bid to “get away with it”.
Scott Paterson, 45, murdered Annette Smith at the home they shared in Fairfield, Bedfordshire, in November last year.
He then dismembered the pensioner’s body and hid her remains at a storage unit in nearby Letchworth, Hertfordshire.
To avoid suspicion over her disappearance, Paterson – who had previously completed a butchery course – told police she had left their home with an unknown woman.
He also sent Christmas messages and Moonpig cards to her family and friends to pretend she was still alive and cover his tracks
Paterson admitted murder during a pre-trial hearing at Luton Crown Court on September 9, and was today jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.
Bedfordshire Police have now released disturbing footage which shows him very calmly confessing to killing his 74-year-old landlady before dismembering her and hiding her remains.
Paterson, wearing a black baseball cap and blue shirt, is seen unemotionally telling cops: “I suffocated her in her bed.”
He is asked when this was, and he replies: “The 8th of November.”
When asked where Anette was, he pauses for a moment before saying with the same stoney face: “There isn’t a full body.
“And she’s in a storage unit, what remains of her is in a storage unit in Letchworth.”
When asked why he went to “those lengths”, he says: “Because I thought if there wasn’t a body I’d get away with it.”
A court earlier heard how Annette and Paterson had become friends and she had invited him to lodge in her spare room rent-free, in exchange for company and running errands following the breakdown of her relationship 14 years earlier.
The pair had also gone on holiday together and hosted dinner parties.
After she had suffered a stroke in 2018, her mobility was affected and Paterson acted as her carer, collecting medicine and washing for her.
But Paterson suffocated Annette to death inside the property on November 8, 2023.
He then moved her body into a bathroom, drank a bottle of wine and went about “every day things like normal”.
Paterson moved her body into a cupboard under the stairs when he received notice a photographer was to attend the property to take pictures for an estate agent.
He later dismember the body and hid her body in a suitcase before taking it to the storage unit.
As he tried to maintain the perception she was still alive to her family, Paterson used Annette’s email address to send Christmas messages.
But concerns were raised by Annette’s family in January.
Her family had previously raised concerns for her welfare with police in January 2021, nearly three years earlier.
When they contacted police regarding her disappearance, they were told there was insufficient evidence to deem her a missing person.
But a high-risk missing person investigation was finally launched in April earlier this year when her family found her passport, clothing and the laptop that had been used by Paterson to send the Christmas messages.
A police probe later revealed Paterson had been in £30,000 of credit card debt and had stolen Annette’s jewellery before selling it online for £5,000.
Paterson was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder, before making a full admission and directing detectives to a storage unit at which he had hidden her remains.
Paterson told cops he suffocated Annette to death and had initially attempted to hide her body in the house.
He told of how he would say to himself in the mirror: “I killed someone.”
Paterson also revealed he had considered murdering Annette on two previous occasions, but stopped himself when he reached her bedroom door.
The killer, of no fixed address, formally pleaded guilty to murder during a pre-trial hearing at Luton Crown Court on September 9.
He appeared at the same court today, where he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.
Paterson, wearing a blue polo shirt and grey trousers, bowed his head and kept his eyes closed during parts the sentencing hearing.
Passing sentence, Mr Justice Murray told the court Paterson had told “an elaborate lie” to Annette’s friends and family to cover up his lies.
He added: “You told her friends and family an elaborate lie. Because of your lies, the police concluded there was no evidence at that time to say she was genuinely missing.”
The judge also described actions as “awful” and “callous”.