Moment man jokes with police that murder victim is 'under his bed'

Newly released footage has revealed the moment a convicted murderer joked with officers before lying about where he hid his victim’s body.

Stephen Castle,59,strangled Wayne Woodgate,54,after a chance encounter in Tunbridge Wells,Kent,on October 17,2024.

A trial heard the murder was the result of a long-standing grudge between the pair. Castle blamed Woodgate for telling police about him in 2015.

Castle was previously jailed for seven-and-a-half years after officers raided his home and found firearms.

Police bodycam footage released after Castle’s conviction shows him in a happy mood,as he’s told he will be arrested for kidnapping.

‘Kidnapping,that’s a new one for me,’ he joked. When asked where Woodgate was,he replied: ‘Well,I don’t know where the f*** he is,do I?

Moments later,as officers were preparing to leave,he told them: ‘He is under my bed in my flat,in a suitcase.’

He appeared to be in good spirits as he was charged (Picture: SWNS/Kent Police)

Woodgate’s body was found on the following day in woodland off the A268 in Peasmarsh.

The pair had not seen each other for 10 years before meeting in Tunbridge Wells at around 3:30 pm on October 17 last year.

Woodgate was walking on Goods Station Road,in the town centre,when he was confronted by Castle.

The defendant threatened him and made him enter a Peugeot van driven by another man,a murder trial heard.

The altercation was seen by concerned witnesses who called police,and the van was tracked to Castle’s home in Hastings Road,near Matfield.

Castle was arrested for kidnapping and initially claimed he had met Woodgate before ‘dropping him off’ at another location.

He had been murdered with a ligature,police said,shortly after meeting Castle,who had driven him to his home.

Castle will be sentenced on June 26 (Picture: SWNS/Kent Police)

At Maidstone Crown Court,Castle admitted killing his victim but said he ‘didn’t intend to’. He denied a charge of murder and pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Yesterday,a jury found him guilty of murder by unanimous verdict. Castle will be sentenced at the same court on June 26.