Brighton man confesses to killing flatmate after drawing the 'devil card' in tarot reading

Star Randell-Hanson broke down and confessed to Jayne Braiden in her Brighton shop after she read his fortune

Star Randell-Hanson was sentenced to life in prison (Rex Features/Sussex Police)

A man has been jailed for life after telling a tarot reader he had killed his flatmate after she dealt him the death card.

Star Randel-Hanson was found guilty of murdering Derick Marney after a two-week trial at Croydon Crown Court.

Jayne Braiden, who owns JJ Tarot on the Brighton Seafront, told Randel-Hanson to pick 10 cards when he came for a reading at her shop. But the first three he drew - the blasted tower, the emperor and the devil card - caused him to break down in tears.

"The first was the blasted tower which means falling out with someone, a really serious row," she told the court. "Then there was the emperor, the dominant male. Then the devil card means obviously something awful.

"He broke down and I said to him: 'Look I can see here that this is not good, you need to tell me everything, let's talk.'”

Randel-Hanson admitted he had killed Mr Marney but said he "did not mean to". The two men met at the Brotherhood Gate spiritualist church in Brighton in 2013 and moved in together a short while later.

Ransell-Hanson broke down after drawing the devil card in his tarot reading (file photo) (Rex Features)

They shared a bed but were not lovers, the court heard.

Randel-Hanson said Mr Marney had made unwelcome sexual advances and sexually abused him on three occasions.

The 56-year-old said he had stabbed him while the pair were arguing in the kitchen and left his body there for 10 days before he went to JJ Tarot.

Ms Braiden said she had explained to Randel-Hanson that she had to call the police but when she called 999 her enquiry was downgraded to “non-emergency” as officers assumed it was a hoax, the Daily Telegraph reports.

She managed to keep Randel-Hanson in the shop for an hour by fetching him a bottle of water and speaking to him about his relationship with Mr Marney until the police arrived. She said after a while they had changed subject and “laughed at the time the police were taking”.

Following his arrest, officers visited his flat in Vernon Terrace and found Mr Marney’s body on the kitchen floor.

Randel-Hanson has been told he must serve a minimum of 15 years in prison before being considered for parole.