Daventry murder trial: Jury sent home

Erroll Anglin, 50, denies the murder of Christine Haye-Levy at her home in Jervis Close in the early hours of December 11, 2012.

During the trial Mr Anglin told the court how on the night of her death he mistook a wooden spoon for a knife and he never meant to kill her.

In the prosecutions closing statement at Northampton Crown Court yesterday, Matthew Lowe, told the jury his case was Mr Anglin killed Ms Haye-Levy unlawfully and not in reasonable self defence.

He said: “The prosecution say that if an individual arms themselves with a knife and then uses that knife repeatedly to inflict blows to a victim that person’s intention at that moment is clear.

“The use of the weapon, the number of blows and the extent of the injuries tell us clearly that at the moment in time the intention was at the very least to cause very serious harm.

“The fact that a few moments later the individual regretted what he has done is of little assistance to a jury determining what was going through his mind at that time.”

Ms Haye-Levy sustained four wounds on the night of her death, one which was believed to be the primary cause of her death punctured her right lung after entering her body just below the collar bone.

He added: “This defendent is far from stupid. He may not be able to read but you will not confuse that with a lack of intelligence. He knows how he needs to present himself to you in the box, he is clever enough to come up with potential answers to some of the evidence presented to you. The prosecution say that many of these answers are incredibly implausible.”

Mr Lowe reminded the jury of an audio recording they heard last week of a fierce argument between the couple. He asked them if the tone heard in that argument was consistent with Mr Anglin’s description of himself as a man frightened of his partner who ‘mashed’ him up.

In his closing statement the defence, Adrian Redgrave, said the audio recording showed the way in which the couple conducted the arguments they had.

He said: “Look at the life they had in Birmingham with him [Anglin] wandering the streets trying to find a job and her [Ms Haye-Levy] stuck in a high rise flat, it’s a recipe for discord, arguments and resentment. It’s not difficult to imagine the real problems that started. You may think people make allegations when they are frustrated and unable to see what the future holds.”

Addressing the night of Ms Haye-Levy’s death, Mr Redgrave said: “You can compare the two items [knife and wooden spoon] but it’s very different an hour or so into an argument that has descended into violence and with only fairy lights on, look at the circumstances and ask yourself if there isn’t room for error.”

He added: “After realising what he had in fact done I invite you to consider the way he behaved. He didn’t in anyway try to get rid of the knife he was out shouting to get the police and trying resuscitation and mouth to mouth.

“And when it was realised she was dead he went back inside and washed some of the blood off his face, no one is trying to suggest he was trying to remove all the traces of blood, because as soon as the police got there he asked them to arrest him.”

The jury will continue its deliberations tomorrow (Friday).