MAN DENIES KILLING 2 LOVERS 5 YEARS APART
A “POSSESSIVE, controlling” man killed two of his former girlfriends five years apart, with their deaths recorded at the time as being caused by accidental or natural causes, a court heard.
Robert Trigg, 52, is accused of murdering Susan Nicholson, 52, whose body was found on a sofa they had both slept on in Worthing, West Sussex, on April 17, 2011.
Trigg is also charged with the manslaughter of Caroline Devlin, 35, who was found dead in bed by one of her children at her home, also Worthing, on March 26, 2006.
The prosecution at Lewes Crown Court said that when each death was viewed in more depth, “significant similarities” emerged.
The trial heard that after both causes of death were re-assessed, the pathologist concluded Ms Nicholson was suffocated after having her head deliberately forced into the bed, and Ms Devlin’s death was caused by a blow to the back of her head.
Jurors were told that both women had been subjected to violence from Trigg.
Trigg, of Worthing, denies murder and manslaughter.
The trial continues.