A person accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend and dumping her physique near a lay-by was “physically abusive” in the direction of her within the months earlier than her dying, a court docket has heard.
Darren Hall, 36, denies killing Sarah Henshaw at her residence in Ilkeston, Derbyshire – and disposing of her physique 20 miles away in woodland near the westbound A617 close to Chesterfield in June.
Derby Crown Court heard on Friday that Ms Henshaw was “beaten up” by Hall after the pair attended an N-Dubz live performance in Manchester in December final 12 months.
Chloe Crofts, who was in a relationship with Ms Henshaw’s brother on the time, advised the court docket they had been woken up by the 31-year-old within the night time.
“At two, three o’clock we got a banging on the door. It was Sarah,” she mentioned. “She was in a state. He had beaten her up.”
Ms Crofts, giving proof from behind a curtain, added: “(She was) upset, crying, angry, just did not know what to do with herself. She had bruises all over her. She said ‘he has beaten me up’.”
When requested by prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC what accidents Ms Henshaw had sustained, Ms Crofts mentioned: “There was a bruise on her eye, bruises on her arms and later that morning she showed me her legs and there were bruises on her legs and one around her neck.”
Ms Heeley requested: “Other than saying he had beaten her up, did she give any details about how that happened?”
Ms Crofts replied: “The bruise on her leg, she said that he had stamped on her.”
Ms Heeley requested: “When she said ‘he’, who was she referring to?”
“Darren Hall,” Ms Crofts replied.
Ms Crofts mentioned she took pictures of the accidents on her cellphone as a result of Ms Henshaw requested her to. These photos had been proven to the jury.
Ms Croft additionally advised jurors that all through Hall and Ms Henshaw’s relationship, he “always wanted to know where she was, what she was doing and who she was with”.
In cross-examination, defence KC Andrew Vout requested whether or not Ms Henshaw had talked about she had drunk “two bottles of wine” on the live performance and had repeatedly fallen over, together with into parked automobiles, earlier than getting back from the gig.
Ms Crofts mentioned she couldn’t recall Ms Henshaw mentioning it, however that she didn’t consider Ms Henshaw was drunk.
The Crown alleges Hall killed Ms Henshaw on the night time of 20 June and “callously dumped” her physique.
He used Ms Henshaw’s cellphone to textual content associates and neighbours to faux she was nonetheless alive, telling them that she had gone lacking whereas disposing of her belongings at a recycling centre and in a skip, Ms Heeley advised the court docket on Wednesday.
Ms Henshaw was final seen alive on the night of 20 June, along with her physique not found till six days later.
After his arrest, Hall advised police Ms Henshaw fell down the steps throughout an argument, however Ms Heeley mentioned there have been no marks on the steps and bruising discovered on Ms Henshaw’s neck was “about the width of a dressing gown cord”.
In his proof, Ms Henshaw’s brother, Callum Stevenson, mentioned he additionally noticed Hall “get quite physically abusive” in the direction of his sister in an incident on the defendant’s tackle in Ilkeston in 2016.
“Sarah was going up the stairs and Darren grabbed her by the arm and neck and pushed her into the bedroom,” he mentioned.
He additionally advised jurors he overheard his sister telling their mom about bodily abuse on “multiple occasions” and accused Hall of “being emotionally abusive at the same time”.
“I can’t give specifics of what he did to her but it was, a lot of the time, physical abuse,” he mentioned. “Sometimes she had bruises to her arms, face and so on.”
Mr Stevenson mentioned he additionally recalled the incident after the N-Dubz live performance, and that Ms Henshaw had mentioned “Darren had beaten her up”.
The trial continues.
Source: information.sky.com”