Partner’s injuries ‘caused by sex’ – murder accused
AMAN ferociously beat his partner to death and then told paramedics her injuries were friction burns caused when they had sex on the carpet, a court heard.
Simon Winstone is accused of murdering Michelle Denise Rosser at her home in Bedlinog, Merthyr Tydfil, after a campaign of domestic violence.
The 50-year-old, of Brecon Road, Merthyr Tydfil, had earlier been heard by a neighbour to shout at her, “Come back in now, you f ***** c***, if you don’t I’ll wring your neck”.
Ms Rosser, 38, had suffered catastophic internal and external injuries and was found dead on a sofa covered in a sleeping bag.
A post-mortem found she had a ruptured kidney, bruising to the brain, a fractured skull, broken ribs, bruising to her heart and lungs and multiple bruises and grazes to her face, neck, back, head, arms, legs and torso.
Opening the prosecution case at Merthyr Crown Court, Michael Jones said the defendant’s evidence was that he was asleep on the sofa at the time she was murdered.
He said the victim suffered frequent physical violence at the hands of the defendant, which she used to say had been caused by falling down the stairs or tripping over the dog.
He told the jury: “It’s the prosecution’s case that Denise Rosser’s death was the consequence of a brutal and sustained assault by this defendant. It was the culmination of the violence she had been subjected to by this defendant during their relationship. To avoid responsibility, the defendant will attempt to deflect your attention by attacking her character, saying she could have fallen down the stairs or that a random person attacked her in the very room where he slept.”
Winstone, who appeared in the dock on Tuesday, denies murder.
The court heard he went to a neighbour’s house on May 29 this year and said he had found Ms Rosser dead at the bottom of the stairs.
Paramedics attended and pronounced Ms Rosser dead. When asked about the facial injuries, the defendant said: “They’re friction burns off the carpet from where we were having sex last night.”
The court heard Winstone and Ms Rosser had been in a relationship since 2012 and lived at Ms Rosser’s terraced house, which she had inherited following her mother’s death in 2002.
Mr Jones added: “Their relationship and their lifestyle was a turbulent one and was blighted by heavy drinking and living in a cluttered and disordered home.”
Family members and neighbours often described seeing Ms Rosser with black eyes and a swollen lip, which she would blame on falling down the stairs or tripping over the dog. On one occasion, a neighbour called the police after Winstone was seen picking Ms Rosser up and throwing her out of her home as well as throwing a raw potato at her head.
On the day before Ms Rosser’s death, her neighbour Chloe McNally saw and heard the defendant and Ms Rosser arguing and swearing at 1pm.
At 5.30pm Ms McNally was in the back garden and could hear the pair arguing and using graphic words.
The trial continues