Accused claims that he found his partner ‘bleeding out’ on floor

Court: Man says he heard a thump while he was in the shower

An Angus farm worker accused of murdering his girlfriend claims he found her “bleeding out” on the kitchen floor.

Keith Rizzo told police he had been taking a shower at Aberdeen woman Neomi Smith’s flat in Brechin then found her covered in blood and gasping for breath.

Rizzo, 23, is standing trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of stabbing and choking Ms Smith, 23, to death at her home on June 9 last year.

A recording of a threehour police interview from that night was played to jurors yesterday.

On the tape, Rizzo said he had been in a local bar, Hudsons, with his partner and other friends earlier that evening.

He said: “I came home and I had been in the shower for 10 minutes.

“When I came out, I found my girlfriend lying on the floor bleeding out pretty much.

“I lifted her head up and she was just gasping for breath.”

The court previously heard the care worker’s unresponsive and bloodied body was discovered by emergency workers in the Swan Street property after they were called by a neighbour at around 1am.

PC Stuart Gillies said Rizzo asked him repeatedly if Ms Smith was alive before adding “have you ever held your wife or girlfriend in your arms while she died?”

He said the accused told him he heard a “thump” while showering before he “found her on the floor”.

When he was taken to the charge bar at Bell Street police headquarters in Dundee, Rizzo was found to have scratches to his lower back and a graze to his elbow.

Mr Gillies said Rizzo claimed he had suffered the injuries during his arrest.

D o n a l d F i n d l a y , defending, asked why there were differences between the words in Mr Gillies’ notebook from the time of the interaction with Rizzo and an operational statement written around three hours later.

Mr Gillies said time constraints and safety concerns can often prevent notes from being taken until some time after.

He said it was a “mistake” not to copy the notes verbatim from his notebook and described it as a “schoolboy error”.

In addition to the murder charge, Rizzo is accused of assaulting Miss Smith to her injury and danger of life between May 5 and June 8 2019, assaulting three former partners and threatening another some time between December 2014 and May 2019.

He denies all charges.

The trial, before Lady Rae, continues.

“I found my girlfriend lying on the floor bleeding out”

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