Man 'beat and strangled' estranged wife to death

Elise Mason was last seen entering Mark Donovan's house in Great Baddow, near Chelmsford, on 25 April 2023

A man beat and strangled his estranged wife to death after suspecting she had found a new lover, a court heard.

Mark Donovan, 39, allegedly inflicted 70 injuries on Elise Mason as he murdered her in Great Baddow, near Chelmsford, Essex, in April 2023.

He was arrested after handing himself in at a police station and telling officers he had done the "worst thing", prosecutors said.

Mr Donovan, of Rothmans Avenue, Great Baddow, denies murdering the 37-year-old.

The trial at Chelmsford Crown Court heard Ms Mason left her mother's house at 15:50 BST on 25 April, "never to return".

She arrived at Mr Donovan's house 18 minutes later but did not leave the property, prosecutor Andrew Jackson said.

Elise Mason's mother previously said her daughter was a "fantastic" mum and was "loved by everybody"

He alleged Mr Donovan had "bombarded" Ms Mason with "manipulative" texts and phone calls in the lead-up to her death in an effort to win her back.

They included offers of going on dates to the cinema and restaurants, as well as promises of perfume and jewellery, jurors heard.

Other messages the defendant allegedly sent accused her of "betrayal" and told her it was "better when dark" to visit his house.

The 'worst thing'

Mr Jackson said that at 16:42 BST on the day of her death, Ms Mason texted her current partner: "You OK babe?"

The partner replied seven minutes later and said "course babe" - but the message was never marked as "read" by Ms Mason.

It was in those seven minutes that she was likely to have been fatally attacked, suffering a brain injury in the process, Mr Jackson alleged.

A mobile phone belonging to Ms Mason was found discarded in a pub toilet, the jury heard

Mr Donovan then cancelled a pre-planned visit from his carer and called a number of solicitors, the court was told.

The jury heard he left his house by himself at 18:26 BST and went to the nearby Blue Lion pub, where he disposed of Ms Mason's phone in a toilet.

Mr Donovan later went for a massage before he handed himself in at Ilford police station, east London, at 02:31 BST the following day.

It is alleged he told officers he had done the "worst thing", but claimed he acted in self-defence having been "emotionally abused" by Ms Mason.

The trial continues.