CATTLE farmer Roger Troughton was yesterday found guilty of murdering his cousin.

Today, the 74-year-old farmer is expected to hear how many years he must spend in jail for killing his mentally-unwell cousin Robin with a spade.

A jury considered its verdict for just four hours yesterday before returning a unanimous guilty verdict following an eight-day trial.

Judge Robert Juckes QC said it had been a difficult case, but the only sentence could be one of life.

He adjourned to consider what the minimum term should be.

Troughton, neatly suited, stood impassively with his arms clasped in front of him as the verdict was announced.

Friends and family in the public gallery, who have been present for most of the trial, showed no reaction.

The jury, of seven women and four men, had been one short since the second day when one of their number fell ill.

Troughton, of Wood Street Farm, Wood Street, Bushley, near Upton-on-Severn, had admitted killing 59-year-old Robin Troughton by hitting him on the head with a fencing spade on Mother's Day last year.

But he denied murder, admitting manslaughter, saying he had acted in self-defence.

He claimed that when he went to the home belonging to Robin Troughton's mother, at Paynes Place in Stokes Lane, Bushley, his cousin came at him with a pair of metal tree-loppers.

It was when he was jabbed in the chest that he struck out.

He then lost control and hit Robin again.

He told the court he did not realise how badly Robin had been hurt, arguing that he thought Robin would simply get up and go home.

Instead, Robin's brother Nigel, who is also known as Tim, noticed Robin was covered in blood three hours later.

Robin was taken to hospital, but never regained consciousness. He died 19 days later.

The court heard that Robin, of The Cowshed, The Ramplings, Longdon, near Tewkesbury, had a history of unruly behaviour.

Only the day before his death, he had taken part in trashing the home of his 86-year-old mother, who was away having respite care.

Judge Robert Juckes QC has described it as a "tragic" case involving a family and friends.

He will hear submissions by defence barrister Rex Tedd QC on the length of sentence for an elderly man before he passes sentence.

BACKGROUND - PROFILE OF ROBIN TROUGHTON

TRAGIC is an often over-used word in the English language but, sadly, it perfectly sums up Robin Troughton’s life and the terrible end to it.

His early years suggested so much promise because he was an exceptionally intelligent person, showing a brilliance in maths at school and moving on to gain an upper second class degree in agriculture at Reading University.

But, as sometimes happens when people are unusually bright, there was another side to him, too.

There were times when the quirky side of his character descended into mental illness.

It first began to affect his life two years into his time at university and was so severe that he had to take a year out from his studies for treatment and rehabilitation.

At various times throughout his life, it would return to haunt him and make him difficult to be around. Sometimes he would go for long periods of good mental health, but then his demons would return and plunge him into such turmoil that he would have to seek professional help.

One villager from Bushley, where his family moved to from Tredington in the early 1970s, said: “Just a week before he died, he was very dishevelled. He wasn’t sure where he was.

“He was treated at Cheltenham and was on medication, but when he was ill he was never aggressive, just odd. He was eccentric and didn’t really make sense.”

The villager, who did not want to be named, said: “The problem with Robin was that you couldn’t reason with him. He was too far gone.”

She added that there was a great feeling of sadness among locals that his illness had caused him so much suffering.

She said: “He didn’t deserve to have his life ended like that.”

But the harsh reality of his health issue was that it prevented him from having a long-lasting career in farming.

During the times when he was having problems, he would obtain help and support from the adult opportunity centre in Tewkesbury.

As part of his recovery programme, he did a spell of shelf-stacking at Tesco but, not surprisingly, found it dull and well below his intellectual ability.

He did enjoy talking to customers, though, because he was always a people person and there was nothing he liked better than to chat to anyone and everyone.

Robin loved smoking a pipe and although he never married, he shared his home with a succession of three cats – all rescued by Cats Protection. Other interests included photography, music and cricket.

But perhaps most important to him was his Christian faith.

He regularly went to church in and around Tewkesbury and loved talking about the Bible.

And it would be harsh not to mention some of the other aspects of Robin’s nature – his energy, enthusiasm, quirky sense of humour and generosity.