Man denies murdering his wife, 53
AMAN admitted killing his estranged wife just two days after they spent a day at the races together.
But Paul Martin Jordan denies murdering Elizabeth Mary Jordan at her home in Bangor on July 31 last year and is standing trial at Caernarfon Crown Court.
The 54-year-old admits the manslaughter of the mum of two on the basis of diminished responsibility.
Mrs Jordan, 53 – known as Betty – was pronounced dead in hospital after she was found stabbed and seriously injured in her bedroom at Trem y Garnedd, on the Maesgeirchen housing estate.
Outlining the prosecution case to the jury, Peter Griffiths QC said despite enjoying a day out at Chester Races together just two days previously, Jordan left his rented flat in Ffordd Siabod, Y Felinheli, to “finally rid himself of the problem he perceived he had with his wife”.
He believed Mrs Jordan was having an affair with another man and intended to kill his estranged wife and then, possibly, himself, said Mr Griffiths.
“He certainly achieved the former,” he said.
Arriving soon after 8.30am, he first went to the kitchen and selected a knife and went upstairs, the court heard.
After checking his daughter’s bedroom to see if she was there, which she wasn’t, he went into his wife’s room and stabbed her once while she lay in bed, the jury was told.
A pathologist will describe the injuries to Mrs Jordan but says he will say she died of a single stab wound, delivered with “moderate force” to the upper chest, which penetrated the left lung and the heart, said Mr Griffiths.
“It was blatantly obvious Mrs Jordan was seriously injured but Jordan didn’t lift a finger to help her”, the barrister went on.
After stabbing his wife Jordan left the house, leaving the knife on a kitchen worktop. He also left his watch. Asked why he had left his watch by detectives, he refused to answer, said Mr Griffiths.
CCTV footage from local shops picked up the vehicle leaving the estate.
Leaving Maesgeirchen in his car, Jordan passes the ambulance approaching the house in response to a 999 call made by his daughter’s boyfriend.
He was said to have pulled to the side of the road to allow it to pass and the movement is picked up by the emergency vehicle’s dash cam.
The jury was told the couple, who were together for 30 years, had a “strained” relationship, with arguments and violence being a recurring theme.
Originally from Ireland, they settled in Bangor in 1983 and had two children. Jordan was described as a “very heavy drinker” and “possibly an alcoholic”, but held down a good job for BT.
The trial, which is expected to last about a week, continues.