Husband 'slashed wife's neck'

2:24pm Tuesday 6th January 2009

A jealous husband chased his wife through the streets of Wheatley before slashing her neck with a kitchen knife, a court heard today.

Russell Yeates killed his wife Debbie Smith after a series of violent arguments at their home in Wheatley before trying to kill himself, Oxford Crown Court heard.

Yeates, a 49-year-old carpenter, denies murder.

Amjad Malik, prosecuting, said Ms Smith was found unconscious in her home by a neighbour on May 26 last year.

He told the jury there was a history of violence in the couple’s relationship and said Yeates had been cautioned by police for common assault against Ms Smith in December 2006.

Mr Malik said: “There is a background to the killing. There is a history of violence suffered by Debbie Smith in her relationship with this defendant. What the prosecution say is that it reveals evidence, that you will hear, of a man who is extremely violent towards his wife.”

Mr Malik told the jury Ms Smith’s friend Michelle Bark would give evidence during the trial about the couple’s relationship. He said: “You will hear her say how within six months of becoming her friend, Debbie Smith began to tell her how this defendant was verbally abusive, jealous and controlling.”

Mr Malik added that neighbour Anne Ledwith saw two people running through Bell Lane on the afternoon Ms Smith, 47, died.

He said: “She looked through the glass panes of her front door to see who those two people were. It was the defendant chasing Debbie Smith.”

The trial continues.