Man 'ate friend's head'

A man battered his friend to death before drinking his blood and eating part of his head, a court heard yesterday.

Allan Menzies, who collected vampire literature and videos, was accused of murdering his friend Thomas McKendrick, 21, after inviting him to his home in Fauldhouse, West Lothian, last December.

The court earlier heard how Mr Menzies, 22, had struck his victim repeatedly on the head with an instrument such as a hammer or baseball bat, before striking him numerous times with a knife, according to prosecution lawyers.

Mr Menzies allegedly confessed to police officers that after killing him, he had consumed his blood and part of his head before taking the body in a wheelie bin to a wooded area where he buried him, Edinburgh's High Court heard.

The court heard how Mr Menzies confessed to the crime while he was being driven to his first court hearing on 22 January, four days after the discovery of Mr Kendrick's body.

Mr Menzies denies one charge of murder and another of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

He offered a plea of guilty to culpable homicide for reasons of diminished responsibility, which the Crown rejected.

The hearing continues.