A student tried to impress his ‘edgy’ friends by revealing his ‘darkest secret’ was killing a 94-year-old woman in a house fire, a court has heard.

Prosecutors claim Tiernan Darnton, 20, made the revelation weeks after the funeral of Mary Gregory, his step-grandmother, who died in May 2018.

A jury was told he swore his friends to secrecy but nearly a year later he made a similar confession to a counsellor, who told the police.

Darnton is now standing trial at Preston Crown Court accused of murdering Mrs Gregory, which he denies.

Mrs Gregory was a heavy smoker who had dementia and was treated as the victim of an accidental fire.

She was found in the conservatory of her bungalow in Heysham, Lancashire, in the early hours of May 28.

Firefighters carried her out and she was rushed to hospital, where she died a few days later on June 1.

David McLachlan QC said it was assumed Mrs Gregory’s death was accidental after an initial investigation, until Darnton’s comments during a counselling session a year later.

In the session, Darnton talked about a friend who ‘could send me to prison coz of what he knows’ and went on to talk about an incident, the prosecutor said.

The female counsellor ended the session by telling him ‘I’m not really clear what you’re saying but I think you’re trying to tell me you’ve killed someone’ – to which Darnton nodded.

A week later, another counselling session took place where Darnton was joined by his stepfather Chris Gregory, Mrs Gregory’s son.

Mr McLachlan said Darnton mentioned committing a crime.

He said: ‘It was at this stage, the prosecution say, that Chris Gregory said “Is this all about my mum?” and Darnton volunteered “I set fire to the curtains with a lighter”.

‘Chris Gregory responded “What, at 3am in the morning?” and Darnton replied “Yes”.’

An investigation was launched, leading officers to Darnton’s friends, who told them about a Truth or Dare game in the weeks after Mrs Gregory’s funeral.

The court heard Darnton was asked to reveal his ‘darkest secret’ and said: ‘I have a secret I haven’t told anyone. I may have killed someone.’

When pressed, Darnton allegedly admitted killing his ‘grandmother’, explained how he did it and said he did not want her to suffer anymore as she had dementia.

Darnton was arrested in May 2019 at an address in Combermere Road, Heysham, and his mobile phone and computer were seized.

Examination of the devices revealed a number of Google searches in June 2018 including ‘murderer filled with despair’, ‘I’m a murderer’ and ‘I’m a monster and I’m going to hell’.

Darnton made another search in August 2018 which read ‘feeling guilty for putting a loved one out of their misery’, the court heard.

Mr McLachlan told the jury that a fire examination expert would tell them the blaze was started by naked flame near to the front bedroom window, and not by dropping of a cigarette.

He said: ‘The prosecution’s case is that far from being a tragic accident, Mary Gregory’s death was brought about by Tiernan Darnton deliberately setting fire to her house.’

In a prepared statement to police, Darnton said that despite what he said to the counsellor he did not either deliberately or even accidentally start the fire.

He said his comments during the Truth or Dare game ‘had to be understood in the context of my mental health issues and in particular my attention-seeking behaviour at that time’.

Darnton added he wanted to shock his ‘edgy’ friends because he thought it would make them like him more.

He denies murder and an alternative count of manslaughter. The three-week trial continues.

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