Bournemouth man who murdered lodger and cut up body is jailed for life

Benjamin Atkins dumped body parts of Simon Shotton around seaside resort last year after fight over £30 debt

A man who murdered his lodger in a “ferocious attack” before cutting up his body and dropping packages of his dismembered limbs along Bournemouth seafront has been jailed for life with a minimum of 19 years.

Benjamin Atkins, 49, was convicted by a jury at Winchester crown court in May for the murder of 49-year-old Simon Shotton, whose legs were found in packages by a member of the public on the Manor Steps Zig Zag footpath in the Boscombe area of the Dorset seaside resort in August 2023.