Polding and Pisano A man who escaped from a New Zealand prison is on trial in the UK, charged with the murder of a man he met after advertising his services as a rent boy. South Africa-born Ricardo Pisano, 36, made headlines in New Zealand in 2001 when he walked out on a Tongariro-Rangipo Prison work party and fled the country. He’s now facing murder and grievous bodily harm charges in England over the death of Brighton man Michael Polding. The 62-year-old died from blunt force trauma to the chest, and his body was found in his flat two months after his death. The BBC reports that Pisano lived with Polding in South London and Brighton before the older man’s death. They met when Pisano advertised as a rent boy in a gay magazine. "The prosecution say that really from the word go this defendant lived off Michael Polding financially," Prosecutor Philip Katz, QC, told the jury. "The Crown's case is that this defendant and other friends of his effectively bled Mr Polding dry financially, and this defendant, while in this period, pretended to act as his carer and even godson. "In fact, we say he abused and assaulted Mr Polding, resulting in a serious assault. "We say that he eventually killed him, and having killed him left him to rot." Pisano claims he found Polding hanging from a banister after committing suicide. He says he panicked and fled. He has admitted a charge of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 8th November 2013 - 10:24am