Man charged in Australian 'vampire' murder case

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian police charged a man on Tuesday with the murder nine years ago of a male sex worker who claimed to be a vampire and who had allegedly raped a woman and bitten off part of her tongue.

Shane Chartres-Abbott, 28, was gunned down in broad daylight in front of his pregnant girlfriend in an ambush outside his suburban Melbourne home in June 2003 in what was thought to be a professional hit.

Chartres-Abbott, a prostitute, was about to face trial at the time, accused of raping a female client and biting off part of her tongue after allegedly telling her he was a 200-year-old vampire who drank blood to survive.

He pleaded not guilty in the case, arguing he was the victim of a counter-plot in which he was being secretly groomed by the woman for a "snuff movie" that was to end with his death.