A head chef who worked at top London restaurants was found murdered in a derelict building after becoming a homeless alcoholic, a court heard.
Alexis De Naray, 45, studied at the Prue Leith Cooking School and worked in several high-end kitchens in the capital, jurors were told.
But he began drinking ‘due to the stressful nature of the job’ and was a chronic alcoholic at the time of his death last June.
Mr De Naray was found dead under a sleeping bag in the attic room of an abandoned building in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
Stafford Crown Court heard a post-mortem examination revealed he suffered 17 fractured ribs and injuries to his head and arms.
A forensic pathologist found the chef had been subjected to a significant blunt force assault before his death.
Adam Rowson, 26, of no fixed address, denies murdering the chef between June 23 and June 28 last year.
He also denies an alternate charge of manslaughter.
Alexis De Naray worked at top London restaurants but had become a chronic alcoholic by the time of his death, the court heard
Sally Howes KC, prosecuting, said Mr De Naray was a ‘well-educated man’ from a Greek family.
‘Having attended the Prue Leith Cooking School, he worked as a head chef in a number of restaurants in London,’ she said.
‘Unfortunately, due to the stressful nature of that job, drinking became a way of life and his alcohol problems began.
‘By the time of his death he had become a chronic alcoholic.’
Jurors were told Mr De Naray nearly died from seizures caused by alcohol withdrawal during the Covid lockdown.
‘As a result, his father arranged housing for him in Shrewsbury – near to the family home,’ said Miss Howes.
‘However, despite the help of his father and a number of local agencies, at the time of his death, he was a homeless alcoholic.’
Mr De Naray’s father paid for his son to stay in local hotels, including a Travelodge and Premier Inn, the court heard.
Miss Howes said the victim was taken to hospital unconscious on June 23 from a pub in Telford.
He met Rowson at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the pair were seen on CCTV shortly before 4am the next morning walking towards the derelict building, it is claimed.
Miss Howes said it was the last time Mr De Naray was seen alive.
Prosecutors claim he was then subjected to a violent attack inside the abandoned property.
Rowson was allegedly overheard on CCTV cameras outside a supermarket on June 25 telling friends he had ‘killed someone’.
Miss Howes said the defendant used his victim’s bank card to withdraw cash and buy items at several shops.
CCTV footage also showed him wearing what appeared to be a blood-stained jumper, it is claimed.
Mr De Naray’s father raised the alarm and reported his son as missing on June 24 after not hearing from him.
Three days later, police received a 101 call from Rowson saying he had found a body in the abandoned house.
‘In the attic room, paramedics noticed what appeared to be a mound of blankets – but it wasn’t,’ said Miss Howes.
‘Upon removing the top blanket they uncovered a male body, covered with a sleeping bag – the head, arms and feet were protruding.
‘When they removed the sleeping bag, the paramedics noted that the body was rigid, completely naked and positioned face down on the floor.
‘The face and arms were completely covered with dried blood. There was blood on the inside of the sleeping bag.
‘The body was covered in bruises, notably the back.
‘Dried blood was noted on the floor around the top of the head and an extensive patch of blood near the right side of the right leg of the body.’
Mr De Naray was pronounced dead, the court heard.
Rowson told police at the scene that the pair had had ‘an altercation’ but claimed Mr De Naray had been ‘absolutely fine’, it is claimed.
He allegedly later told a drug and alcohol support worker that he had ‘done something bad’.
Miss Howes said as well as the rib fractures, Mr De Naray suffered other multiple injuries, including a bleed on the brain.
The pathologist, Dr Alexander Kolar, gave a cause of death as multiple injuries compounded by complications of long-standing use of alcohol to excess and acute alcohol intoxication.
The court heard Mr De Naray also had cirrhosis of the liver and was more than five times the legal drink drive limit when he died.
The trial continues.
