British man's 11-point blueprint for the perfect murder of his flatmate

A Briton was being held in a Brazilian jail last night accused of attempting the "perfect murder" of his friend.

Rio de Janeiro police say Russell Cotton, 40, wrote an 11-point blueprint for killing David Fuller, 49.

The two men, both from Cambridge and on extended holidays, had met several months ago on Copacabana Beach.

According to police, Mr Fuller had been trying to get Cotton to return £4,500 he had given him to invest.

They allege Cotton attacked Mr Fuller, having drawn up a blueprint which was found in his laptop and outlined the following steps:

1) Arrive at his flat at 3.15pm; 2) Ask if he is alone and wants to have a beer; 3) Put on gloves; 4) Hit him, wipe him out and remove his clothes. 5) Tie him up with tape; 6) Check for bank cards, cheques and computer archives; 7) After removing everything, turn off the computer;

8) Put towel over mouth to keep him quiet; 9) Break his neck with a monkey wrench and put pills in his mouth; 10) Lock the back door, using gloves; 11) Depart at 7.30pm.

After he arrived at the flat, he allegedly jumped on Mr Fuller, tried to choke him, then tried to hurl him out of the sixth-floor window. Mr Fuller fled, escaped into a lift and raised the alarm.

Detective Fernando Veloso said Cotton had carried a case of weapons into Mr Fuller's flat.

He added: "From what we found in the case, we believe that Cotton intended to chop up David's body and carry it out in a bag."

The British Embassy is said to have found a lawyer to represent Cotton.