Overview
- He told the jury discovering Tarryn Baird’s death was the worst day of his life and said he was in Germany when he got the call.
- He is charged at Winchester Crown Court with manslaughter, controlling and coercive behavior, and two counts of rape over Ms Baird’s death in Swindon in November 2017.
- He denied using a belt to choke her and said any neck contact was consensual during sex, as the court heard an audio clip she recorded that he described as foreplay.
- He rejected claims he strangled her unconscious in June 2017 and denied a 2016 assault with a metal pole, saying he was working abroad in Gothenburg and Amsterdam then.
- The court heard she had earlier contact with police, including a stopped suicide attempt two months before her death and a complaint that led to no action, details highlighted alongside family testimony in coverage led by the Daily Mail and evidence-focused reporting by ITV News.