I was sleeping at time of my Kirsty's death, insists murder trial husband; Marriage was 'no ordinary one' court told Wife's blood 'found on his jeans and boots'.
Byline: Robin TurnerA MAN accused of murdering his wife and dumping her body in a suitcase near the M4 yesterday insisted he had "no idea" who killed her - and said he was fast asleep at the time of her death.
Giving evidence for the first time in his murder trial yesterday, Paul Grabham, who denies murdering his wife Kirsty, told a jury he had been sleeping on a sofa in their Swansea flat at the time when he is alleged to have killed her.
Grabham told Swansea Crown Court he had been drinking with his wife, along with other friends, in the city-centre Play nightspot on March 28, the night of Mrs Grabham's death.
The 26-year-old, who has his wife's name tattooed on his neck, told jurors he had returned home to their Mount Pleasant flat "extremely drunk", and had passed out on their three-seater sofa.
Neighbours of the couple had previously said that they had heard him arguing with Mrs Grabham in the early hours of that morning, and later heard "something being dragged".
The jury has also been told that police found Mrs Grabham's blood on the walls and ceiling of the flat and also on the defendant's clothes.
Yesterday, during his evidence, Grabham's barrister Chris Clee asked him: "Did you argue with Kirsty when she came in later?" The bespectacled defendant, wearing blue jeans and a mauve jumper over a yellow T-shirt with beads around his neck, answered: "No, I did not."
Mr Clee went on: "Did you see Kirsty when she came in?" He answered: "No." Mr Clee later asked Grabham: "Do you know how Kirsty's blood ended up on your boots?" He answered: "I don't." And the barrister added: "Do you know how her blood came to be on your jeans which were found in the washing machine?" He replied "No." Mr Clee asked the defendant directly: "Did you kill your wife, Mr Grabham?" He said: "No I didn't." Trial judge Mr Justice Butterfield asked Grabham: "You've no idea who killed her then?" He replied: "No sir, I haven't." Grabham also denied a prosecution suggestion that he had bought bleach and toilet rolls from a local shop to "clean up" the flat. In his evidence yesterday, Grabham made it clear that his marriage to the victim was no ordinary one. He said they regularly spent pounds 1,000 a week on cocaine, both making their money by acting as prostitutes. On the subject of their mutual drug use, Grabham said that he and his wife had made the decision to reduce their cocaine intake "recreational" levels at the end of 2008, after deciding to try for a baby. He said Kirsty, a "sex worker" since the age of 17, had a loyal group of male clients who she felt safe with. He said she provided around 80% of their income, while he entertained male and female clients. He said if she had a client at their flat he would "pop to the tanning parlour" or make himself scarce. Asked how he felt about the arrangement, he said: "That was fine. "It was just a regular job, the way I looked at it. I was in the sex industry myself." The couple advertised their services on websites called Adult Work and Glamour Finder and also made money by cultivating cannabis plants in their attic. Mrs Grabham's blood-spattered body was found stuffed into the suitcase in a country lane under the M4 near Cefn Cribbwr, Bridgend, on April 6 last year by a lorry driver. Greg Taylor, prosecuting, alleges Grabham murdered his wife during a row at their flat in Rosehill Terrace, Mount Pleasant, Swansea, 10 days before she was found. The flat is just a few hundred yards from the Swansea Lord Mayor's mansion house. Grabham, who grew up in Cornelly near Bridgend, described Kirsty as "a natural flirt, a party animal who gets things going". But he added his wife had a history of self-harming and would sometimes punch herself in the face or head and cut herself with broken glass or a knife. He accepted that the wounds were usually superficial with little bleeding. He revealed that his wife could be violent towards him after drinking, sometimes throwing objects at him or hitting him. And he said that in the months leading up to her death she had been angry with him over his use of so-called "dogging websites".
Grabham explained that the couple often both used the websites to look for like-minded couples who wanted to engage in casual sex. But he said Mrs Grabham had forced him to change his ways after she caught him using one of the sites alone. Grabham told the court that on the night in question, he had visited a dogging website to change his profile details, after seeing that his wife was not in the flat. He said he initially believed she must have stayed with friends, and he went out to do some casual work for a Swansea catering firm called Caterquip. That afternoon, he withdrew money from a cash machine and paid for sex with a prostitute at the Passion Massage Parlour in St Helen's Road, Swansea, described in court as "a brothel". He said that over the next few days he became increasingly concerned over his wife's disappearance as he discovered she was not with friends. He officially reported her missing to police on March 30. He said although police tracked his movements over the next few days to the Bridgend area using his mobile phone records, he did not go near the area where Mrs Grabham's body was found. He said he was visiting family members and friends who lived in Sarn and Cornelly near Bridgend and in Port Talbot. He said that after Mrs Grabham first went missing he started to notice some of her belongings had also disappeared, including a pair of pink hair straighteners, pounds 160 in cash, make-up and some clothes. After he learned she was not with friends as he suspected, he rang Mrs Grabham's mother,Kath Bloomfield, to find out if she had heard anything. Mr Clee said: "The suggestion is you were laying false trails, was that the case?" He answered: "No, I was concerned about my wife." He added later that when he was charged with murder he gave "no comment" replies solely on the advice of a solicitor. And Grabham said when police visited his home after he reported his wife missing he was "as helpful as he could be" and did not hide anything. The case continues.
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ACCUSED: Paul Grabham VICTIM: Kirsty Grabham's body was found in a suitcase
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| Title Annotation: | News; Front Page |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales) |
| Geographic Code: | 4EUUK |
| Date: | Feb 2, 2010 |
| Words: | 1110 |
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