Husband was 'scared to get the blame', court hears

Joanne Samak was found with six stab wounds, one penetrating her breast bone and hitting her heart

A man accused of murdering his wife has told a court he hid bloodstained clothing in their loft because he was afraid of being blamed for her death.

Ex-international hockey player Mohamed Samak, 43, has denied murdering 49-year-old Joanne Samak, who died from multiple stab wounds in Droitwich Spa on 1 July 2024.

He became tearful while being questioned by his defence barrister, John Jones KC, about the events surrounding her death.

He told Worcester Crown Court he saw Mrs Samak stab herself with a knife and "breathe her final two breaths", before he was left "panicking" after moving her body and realising he had blood on his clothes.

Mr Samak said, on the evening of Joanne's death, he heard her come home while he was in bed, and then saw her on the landing with a knife.

He said she told him to leave her alone and shouted: "I don't need any help", before hurrying into the bedroom.

"My eyes were on the knife, I was really surprised," Mr Samak said.

"I went straight after her but there was no time. She carried on stabbing herself moving in very quick motions.

"I was trying to stop her, then she lost her balance and was screaming from the pain, and she came down lying face down by the bed."

He told the court he was "confused and in shock", and was going in and out of the room, before finally going back and seeing her "take her final two breaths".

'I didn't do CPR properly'

He said she was "not in a comfortable position", so moved her to a wider space, but tried not to touch her blood.

"She wasn't breathing. She wasn't moving," he said.

After moving his wife, Mr Samak said he removed his clothes once he realised there was blood on the sleeves of his jumper, and was scared the "finger of blame" would be pointed at him.

He then put the clothes in a bag, which he put in the loft, and said he thought he would be blamed for his wife's death because he was "the only adult in the house".

Mr Jones told the court it was agreed earlier in the trial a scream had been heard by their neighbour at 03:10 BST, and that Mrs Samak was likely to have died between 03:30 and 03:40.

The defendant told jurors he did not phone 999 until 04:09 because he was in a panicked state.

Upon calling 999, he was instructed to start CPR, and confirmed he had received first aid training.

He also admitted he "didn't do it properly", failing to apply enough pressure, and not applying compressions in the correct area in an attempt to avoid touching her blood.

Mr Samak is expected to continue giving evidence for the rest of the week as the trial continues.