A SHROPSHIRE PAINTER and decorator accused of murdering three men told a fellow prison inmate he was a natural born killer, a court heard today.

The jury at Birmingham Crown Court was told it would hear recordings from a conversation in the late 1990s between Robin Ligus and an inmate at Gartree Prison who had agreed to be wired up.

The jury had earlier heard the 59-year-old, formerly of Middletown Square, Shrewsbury, used an iron bar to bludgeon his victims.

The weapon was the “trademark” of Ligus and used in the murders of Trevor Bradley, Brian Coles and Bernard Czyzewska, the court was told. The three men were found dead within the space of seven months in 1994 and Ligus is standing trial on a triple count of murder.

Mr James Curtis QC, prosecuting, said the conversations between the two men took place in the late 1990s when Ligus showed no sign of mental illness.

He said that Ligus, referred to by his prison name “Stan”, was heard saying he was a natural born killer.

Mr Curtis said the murders displayed similarities and Ligus, a father-of-three, made accurate descriptions of how he carried them out.

He told the court that Ligus targeted the men to get cash to fund a drug habit. Mr Curtis added comparisons could also be drawn with the murder of 75-year-old Robert Young, also in 1994, for which Ligus is currently serving a life sentence. “Ligus’s trademark was his iron bar and he confessed to killing people with it,” said Mr Curtis.

Mr Curtis told the court that Ligus said in interviews he struck Mr Bradley, an antiques dealer from Ludlow, over the head before putting his unconscious body into a car and burning it. He added that Ligus also claimed he hit Mr Coles with the bar and left him for dead after burgling his house in Higher Heath, Whitchurch.

In another confession Ligus said he hit Mr Czyzewska’s head against a railing before throwing him into the River Severn.

The case was reopened following the admissions which were made from 2000 onwards, but Ligus suffered a stroke in 2006 and his health has deteriorated.

By Sam Pinnington