THE “grotesque” killing of a North-East teenager, found burnt alive in a wood, was inspired by a spoof horror film, a court heard yesterday.

The decomposed body of 17- year-old Simon Everitt, originally from Escomb, near Bishop Auckland, was found dumped in a swamp after he was apparently murdered as the result of a tangled love affair.

Jurors were shown a clip from British horror comedy Severance, in which a young woman is tied to a tree, doused in petrol and then set alight.

Norwich Crown Court was told that detectives established that the retribution killing had been carried out in a manner almost matching the film scene.

Karim Khalil, prosecuting, said that after watching the grisly scene, one of the three defendants, Jonathan Clarke, said to a friend: “Wouldn’t it be wicked if you could actually do that to somebody in real life?”

Mr Khalil said: “The killing reflects some of the worst aspects of the film clip, but it’s for real. Real people are involved in the horrors that arose.

“Real people were involved in the planning and the killing. A real person, Simon Everitt, was tied to that tree, had petrol poured down his throat and doused over him, was set alight and left to die.”

Mr Khalil said that, given the method used, there could be no dispute that Mr Everitt was murdered, only the extent to which each of the three were involved.

The burnt body of Mr Everitt, who had moved from County Durham to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, four years earlier, was found at nearby Mautby on June 29.

The engineering student, who attended Escomb Primary School and Bishop Barrington School, Bishop Auckland, had been missing since June 6 and it is believed he was killed shortly after his disappearance.

After he was set alight, the flames burnt through the rope that held him to the tree. He staggered for several moments, still alive, before falling to the ground where he died of burns and the inhalation of fumes. There was evidence he had been beaten.

Jimi-Lee Stewart, 25, of Nelson Road Central, Yarmouth, Maria Chandler, 40, of Lancaster Road, Yarmouth, and Mr Clarke, 19, from Telford, all deny murder.

Mr Khalil said Mr Everitt and the two male defendants had all had a relationship with a girl, Fiona Statham, who was “playing off” each of them. The court was told that Miss Statham had accepted a marriage proposal from Mr Everitt, although Mr Khalil said she did not appear to take this seriously.

He said: “This case highlights the grotesque brutality that young people can inflict on one another, doing it in the name of sexual jealousy or some sort of warped allegiance.”

The court was told Mr Everitt was murdered between June 6 and 29 last year.

He was assaulted, bundled into a car and taken to the forest, then tied to the tree.

It is alleged that Mr Stewart and Mr Clarke interrogated him over his relationship with Miss Statham. When he confessed, they killed him.

The court was told that throughout most of the attack, Ms Chandler had remained in the car, but approached the scene of the crime as he lay dying.

Earlier, the group had been caught on CCTV filling a canister of petrol. Ms Chandler later said she had been forced into co-operating, but the court was told she appeared relaxed in the footage.

Mr Khalil said that on the night of his disappearance, Miss Statham had called Mr Everitt to check he was safe.

He answered, but did not speak. Instead, she heard the sound of traffic, banging and him shouting: “Jimi, help me please, I’m begging you.”

The court also heard a 999 call made by Mr Stewart from Mr Everitt’s mobile. He said he needed an ambulance for his friend, but did not know where he was. The operator asked him to find out the location and call back. They did not hear from him again.

In the build-up to the killing, Mr Clarke was said to have sent threatening text messages to Mr Everitt. He also boasted about his intentions.

Mr Chandler was said to have asked friends for a gun or some rope.

The jury heard that after the killing, Mr Clarke had threatened another person, saying: “Do you want me to do to you what I done to Simon – put him 6ft under.”

Mr Khalil said that when interviewed by police, Clarke gave a false alibi, while Mr Stewart told police that he had nothing to do with the killing.

The case is expected to last up to four weeks.

Film mixed comedy and horror

SEVERANCE was one of the most widely acclaimed British horror movies to follow in the wake of the hugely successful 28 Days Later.

It mixed gruesome horror with comedy in a twisted tale of a team-building exercise that goes wrong when a group of unfit workers are dumped into an Eastern European killing ground.

The film contains several strong horror scenes, including one victim losing a leg in a bear trap and the scene showing the woman being tied to a tree and set on fire.

Blackadder actor Tim McInnery and comic Danny Dyer were among the cast.