An 83-year-old man who stabbed his nephew to death before setting fire to a Gosport home has been convicted of murder.

Alan Wotton has today been found guilty of murdering his 65-year-old nephew, Andrew Avery, at a property in Exmouth Road on 29 November 2024.

Andrew Avery had been helping Wotton move out of the property following its sale and had arranged alternative accommodation for him.

On the day he was due to leave, Wotton attacked his nephew with a kitchen knife, inflicting 11 stab wounds. Mr Avery sadly died from those injuries.

Wotton then deliberately started fires inside the property before leaving Mr Avery in the smoke-filled house. Fire investigators identified three separate seats of fire and concluded they had been started deliberately.

Members of the public alerted emergency services after noticing smoke coming from the address.

Wotton admitted to Arson but denied murder, claiming he had acted in self-defence.

However, the Crown Prosecution Service proved that he was the aggressor and that the fatal attack followed a dispute over inheritance money and his impending move from the property.

The prosecution case was supported by witness evidence, forensic findings and admissions made by Wotton at the scene, and a knife recovered from the property.

Simon Clark, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Alan Wotton carried out a ruthless attack on his nephew before setting fire to the property.

"The prosecution case drew together compelling witness accounts, forensic evidence and admissions made by Wotton himself in the immediate aftermath of the murder.

"Andrew Avery had been helping his uncle and arranging for his future. Instead, he lost his life in a horrific and wholly unnecessary act of violence.

"Our thoughts remain with Andrew's family and loved ones and we hope today's verdict provides them with some measure of justice."

Wotton will be sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on 22 October 2026.