Heartbroken student broke into morgue with an axe

A lovestruck student smashed his way into a mortuary with an axe because he feared a girl he fancied had died. Panic-stricken Benjamin Barton spent about 90 minutes scouring confidential records and even looking at bodies in a bizarre attempt to find out whether she was there.

He had fallen for Amy Ogdon, who he had met at a Christian Union meeting at Southampton University, but when he and mutual friends could not contact her, he feared the worst. Barton went to Southampton General Hospital where he tried to talk his way into the mortuary by claiming to the site manager he was a medical student and had left something to do with his work inside.

The manager took his name and mobile phone number and contacted the out-of-hours mortician who told him he would be let in the following day to collect what he wanted. Barton left the hospital but only to buy an axe which he used to smash his way through internal doors after kicking in the outside door.



Inside, he carried out a search of confidential records and documents, gained access to the computer system, and looked at bodies, before leaving with two documents and a key to the rest room in the mortuary. Police were able to trace him through the details he had left earlier with the site manager.

They found the documents, key and axe as well as a chisel and two hammers in his room. Southampton Crown Court heard his feelings for Ms Ogdon were unrequited and she had a boyfriend. “He was heartbroken. He told her how he felt but they didn’t talk much afterwards.”

Barton, who graduated with a first class degree in complexity science, admitted causing damage estimated to be between £6,000-£8,000. He was placed under supervision for 12 months on the condition he continued receiving medical help for nine months and ordered to pay £1,000 compensation.