Journalist accused of lacing guests' desserts with drugs

18 April 2007

A SPORTS journalist laced desserts with tranquilisers hoping to drug guests inito having sex, a court heard.

Christopher Davies, 58, of Harwood Avenue, Bromley treated his guests to champagne, shots of vodka and orange and played a truth-or-dare game at the dinner table.

The former Daily Telegraph football writer is accused of feeding his victims Diazepam.

One woman became dizzy at the dinner party, Croydon Crown Court heard, and went to lay down.

She claimed that she woke up twice to find Mr Davies stroking her hair and kissing her wearing just a t-shirt and underpants.

One of the guests, who found a tablet in her pudding, hid it and took it to the police for analysis the next day.

Denying poisoning, Mr Davies said that he had been given the drug on prescription and had accidentally dropped it into the dessert.

He said he was "mortified" that one of his female guests at a boozy dinner party had found part of a diazepam tablet in her dessert. He denied deliberately planting it there and said it must have dropped in unnoticed when he was taking the "chill out pill" to calm himself after getting upset over his terminally ill father.

The court heard that three women he had met through his work were invited to his home as a thank-you gesture.

One woman who gave evidence, Miss X, said she drank two or three glasses of champagne followed by wine over dinner.

For dessert, Davies served bowls of ice cream topped with a single chocolate - dark chocolate for him and milk for his guests.

Miss X said: "When I went to cut it in half with my spoon it was really hard, like it was frozen.

"As I put it in my mouth I saw a flash of blue. I didn't really think much of it. I tasted something bitter like aspirin."

The second guest noticed something blue in her chocolate and wrapped it up and hid it in her handbag.

The third guest noticed nothing.

Within half an hour, Miss X felt unwell and she became violently ill in the downstairs bathroom.

She went to sleep in the single room of the house but during the night it is alleged that Mr Davies entered the room.

She said: "He sat at the edge of the bed, stroking my hair and kissing the top of my head and saying my name.

"I didn't like it. I told him to leave."

Mr Davies said he had gone to her room because of his concern that she had been sick and might choke.

He denied outright having jumped into bed with the other two to kiss them good night.

He denies two counts of administering a poisonous or noxious substance with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy and two counts of administering a substance with intent to engage in sexual activity.

The trial continues.