The trial of a tenant accused of beating his landlord to death before hiding the body in a roll of carpet and fleeing to Thailand has begun.

Stuart Crawford, 45, of no fixed address is accused of murdering his friend and landlord Michael Ryan, 67, on September 10 2008 at his flat in Laurel Manor, Sutton.

Prosecutor Phil Bennetts told the jury at the Old Bailey today it was a "mercenary killing".

The court heard Mr Crawford had accessed Michael Ryan's bank account before he bludgeoned him to death and stole £6,500 from his bank account.

Crawford claims he acted in self defence after Mr Ryan attacked him as he no longer wanted him to stay with him.

But the jury heard how a postmortem examination revealed the 12 blows to Mr Ryan's head were "not consistent with self defence".

The two had become friends a year earlier after meeting in Thailand.

Michael Ryan had offered Crawford a place to stay after he had fallen on hard times, which Crawford accepted in August 2008.

The court heard how a neighbour, Vivian Biggs, had asked the defendant about the "groaning" noise she had heard during a fight and how it "sounded like someone being murdered".

Prosecutor Phil Bennetts told the jury how Crawford had sent a text message from Michael Ryan's mobile phone to Mr Ryan's daughter after he had killed him in order to cover his tracks.

After fleeing to Thailand, Crawford ran out of money and contacted the assistant editor of the Sutton Guardian newspaper, Matthew Knowles.

Mr Knowles was offered information on the "brutal murder of Michael Ryan" by Stuart Crawford, the jury heard.

Crawford was extradited in January this year.

The court heard how on the plane back to England, Crawford asked Detective Sergeant Humphreys what the sentencing guidelines were for manslaughter and murder, before asking him "Am I in deep s***?".

The jurors heard from the first prosecution witness Elizabeth Ryan, Mr Ryan’s daughter.

She told the court that her father believed Crawford was moving away to Scotland.

Miss Ryan cried as she told how she had wanted to tell her Dad she was pregnant, but he had not replied to her text messages, so she had become concerned.

The jury heard Miss Ryan describe a "horrible smell" as she tried to get into her father's locked bedroom on September 8.

She said: "I just thought it was something in the bin or the fridge."

Mr Crawford denies murder.

The trial continues...