Killer who stabbed nurse 70 times 'was living out a fantasy'

Stuart Harling launched a frenzied attack he had been planning for a year, said Brian Altman, prosecuting.

Cheryl Moss, 33, who was taking a cigarette break outside her hospital, had no chance to defend herself or even scream.

Mr Altman told the Old Bailey that a man resembling 19-yearold Harling, who disguised himself with a wig, had been seen in woods outside St George's Hospital, Hornchurch, Essex, in the weeks before the killing.

The prosecutor said of Mrs Moss: "She turned out to be the tragic, unfortunate person who the defendant came across that day.

"She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Her body was found in the woods by a woman walking her dog. Nearby in the same country park was a sports bag containing the wig, sunglasses, sports clothingand a hunting knife.

All were covered in blood. The jury was told there was also an envelope with the name of Harling's mother and the address of their home in Rainham, Essex.

Harling, a trainee accountant, denies murdering Mrs Moss in April last year.

He admits being the killer but claims his responsibility had been diminished by a mental condition and he is guilty only of manslaughter. This has been rejected by the prosecution.

Mr Altman said: "He was just a cold-blooded killer who acted out his fantasy."

As Mr Altman began outlining the case, Harling shouted insults at him, at one point threatening: "I'm going to shoot you with a machine gun".

Warned by the judge to be quiet or go to the cells, he chose to leave the courtroom.

The jury was told that Harling bought a "killer's kit" from the auction site eBay almost a year before the attack.

It included a large hunting knife, trainers, trousers, T- shirt, gloves and a long dark wig.

He also searched the Internet for information on serial killers and details of decapitation and hand-to-hand combat.

Mr Altman said Harling had no friends and "led the life of a loner, a fantasist.

"Enthused, influenced and fuelled by the fantasy world in which he lived, he developed a plan to murder someone which he executed in a chillingly cold-blooded way."

The court heard that Harling was treated at another hospital on the day of the killing for a hand wound - which the prosecution say he sustained during the attack on Mrs Moss.

Mr Altman said doctors agreed Harling had Asperger's, a form of autism, but were divided on other aspects of his personality.

The trial continues.