A HUSBAND who allegedly stabbed his wife to death became “clingy and obsessive” when he felt their relationship was ending, a jury heard.

Andrew Parsons denies murdering his wife Janee in the home the couple shared in Lucerne Avenue, Bicester, on December 1.

The prosecution at Oxford Crown Court claims she was stabbed 17 times by her husband, who “snapped” after learning his wife was seeing someone else and wanted a divorce.

Yesterday, friends and relatives of the couple described the 38-year-old as “the perfect husband”, supporting Mrs Parsons when the spa business she started in the US failed.

But the jury heard their relationship had broken down, with the defendant sleeping in a separate room and taping a voice recorder under his wife’s bed.

Chelsea Abrey, a schoolfriend of Mrs Parsons from the US, described text message conversations they had last October.

Miss Abrey said: “She resented Andrew. She thought he was lazy and not pulling his weight.

“She was the over-achiever, having to do it all, and she had grown to resent him. She felt smothered by him. He became kind of obsessed with her and what she was doing.”

David Hislop, defending, suggested to Miss Abrey that Parsons had been a “perfect husband” who had helped his wife when she got into trouble.

“But when she no longer needed saving any more she felt he was of no more use to her.”

The witness replied: “Yes.”

Mr Hislop continued: “And as he could feel the relationship slipping away she thought he was becoming clingy and obsessive?”

Miss Abrey said: “Yes.”

A police officer described finding Mrs Parsons in the bathroom after her husband dialled 999.

In a statement read to the court by Miranda Moore QC, prosecuting, Pc James Dunkley said: “There was a lot of blood. I saw this person lying on her back in the bath. There were multiple puncture wounds to all sides of the woman’s neck.

“The female also had numerous wounds to her fingers.”

His colleague, Pc Geoffrey Wheeler, said a man covered in blood had come down the stairs holding his head and saying “my wife, my wife, my wife”.

The trial continues.