Woman accused of man's murder says he abused women

Stephanie Langley is accused of murdering Matthew Bryant, her former brother-in -aw

A woman accused of murdering a pub landlord has told a court she had said she would kill him if he touched her daughter.

Stephanie Langley claimed her ex-brother-in-law, Matthew Bryant, had abused women.

Ms Langley, from East Farleigh, is accused of stabbing Mr Bryant three times with a kitchen knife outside the Hare and Hounds in Maidstone, Kent, in September 2023.

She denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter at Maidstone Crown Court.

The court heard that on the day Mr Bryant died Ms Langley had come into the pub, with CCTV played to the jury showing her trying to smash his phone.

She told the court she had accused him of abusing women and felt he did not deserve to hold a pub licence.

She claimed Mr Bryant threatened to harm her daughter, but the prosecution said it was her who had been making threats.

There was a confrontation outside the pub shortly after 18:00 BST and Ms Langley was seen knocking a phone out of Mr Bryant’s hand.

The prosecution said within the space of about 24 seconds, Ms Langley had stabbed him three times.

'Awful, heinous act'

For the prosecution, Nina Ellin KC put it to Ms Langley: "You hated him, didn’t you?"

Ms Langley replied: "He wasn’t on my Christmas card list, no. He’s not somebody I wanted to think about."

The prosecution asked again: "You hated him, didn’t you?"

She replied: "I didn’t like him, no."

Ms Langley told the court she had wanted to keep her daughter safe and did not make a deliberate decision to kill Mr Bryant.

She said she just lost control, describing it as an "awful, heinous act".

The trial continues.

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