Nurse stabbed by fantasist, court told

A teenage fantasist obsessed with serial killers stabbed a nurse more than 70 times after plotting and rehearsing the murder in intricate detail, the Old Bailey heard yesterday. Stuart Harling donned a long black wig to carry out "a most frenzied and ferocious murderous attack", leaving his victim no time to even scream for help, said Brian Altman QC, prosecuting.

The body of Cheryl Moss, 33, was found in a park behind St George's Hospital in Hornchurch, Essex, in April last year by a woman walking her dog. Mrs Moss was taking a cigarette break during a shift on a ward for elderly people at the time of her death. Stuart Harling, 19, a trainee accountant and former scout leader from Rainham, Essex, denies murder but admits manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

His counsel, Michael Wolkind QC, told the jury that at the time of the killing Harling, then 18, was in a "mentally abnormal" state, which defence psychiatrists had diagnosed as a form of Asperger's syndrome or a schizoid personality disorder.

This was rejected by the prosecution, which called on the jury to convict him of murder. "He was just a cold-blooded killer who acted out his fantasy," said Mr Altman, adding that Harling had never visited a psychiatrist before the killing. Less than two hours after the stabbing Harling went to hospital with a wound to the back of his hand, claiming he had fallen on some scrap metal. Doctors said he seemed "perfectly normal".

On the evening of the killing a neatly-packed sports bag was found by a river near the hospital. It contained a long, dark wig, sunglasses, a pair of leather gloves and sports clothing. A sharp hunting knife was found in the bag, with an envelope with Harling's address on it.

DNA matching Harling and Mrs Moss was found on many of the items.

Sightings of a man loitering in the area apparently wearing the wig, dark glasses and clothing could be read as Harling's "dry runs and dress rehearsals".

Computer records on the Harling family's PC showed that Harling had ordered a CD called Hand to Hand Combat Knife Fighting/Self-Defence II, "techniques the defendant [later] deployed to fatal effect," said Mr Altman.

Harling had also made numerous internet searches for serial killers including Dennis Nilson, convicted of six murders in London in 1983. "The morning after the killing the defendant also accessed online newspapers for news about what he had done," said Mr Altman. Harling was yesterday taken to the cells after repeatedly shouting obscenities from the dock. At one point during the prosecution opening he said: "I'm going to shoot you with a machine gun."

The case continues.