Gary Allen trial: Murder accused 'made chilling threats to victim'

Samantha Class (left) and Alena Grlakova were both strangled, jurors were told

A man accused of murdering two women 21 years apart made "chilling threats" to one of the victims shortly before she was last seen alive, a jury has heard.

Alena Grlakova, 38, vanished on Boxing Day in 2018 and her body was found in a stream in Rotherham on 8 April 2019.

Gary Allen, 47, denies murdering her and Samantha Class, 29, whose body was discovered on a river bank in 1997.

Sheffield Crown Court heard two audio recordings in which he shouted at Mrs Grlakova to get out of his flat.

On the second day of the trial, jurors were told Mrs Grlakova, from Slovakia, arrived at Mr Allen's home on Bradbury's Close in Rotherham in the afternoon of 26 December 2018.

In a recording made by the defendant and recovered by police, the jury heard Mr Allen shout "get out or I'm going to chuck you out".

"Every time you come here you cost me money."

Mrs Grlakova is later heard saying: "I'm coming here for you..."

Alena Grlakova was reported missing on Boxing Day 2018 after she failed to contact her family

In the second recording, he told the mother-of-three: "If you knock on my door again I'm going to beat the living [expletive] out of you."

After Mrs Grlakova left, the defendant went to his neighbour and apologised for his language and Mrs Grlakova was seen heading to a nearby pub, the court heard.

She was last seen on CCTV inside the Travellers Inn, the prosecution claim.

Prosecutor Alistair MacDonald QC told jurors: "She was killed by Gary Allen either that night or into the early hours of the following morning when she returned to his flat."

He said the following day, Mr Allen bought a pair of work gloves and two hand trowels "for use in the deposition of her body".

The prosecution said they had "no direct evidence" Mrs Grlakova had returned to the flat but asked the jury to consider "those chilling threats about what he would do to her if she returned", adding "you can be sure that Alena was murdered by Gary Allen".

Samantha Class's body was found in 1997 by three schoolchildren

Mrs Grlakova's naked body was found in the Old Slaugh by a police officer who could smell "decomposing flesh" coming from the stream, the court heard.

She had been strangled and her body weighed down in the water.

Following Mr Allen's arrest on 10 April, police found images of "dead females in circumstances similar" to those of Mrs Grlakova on a broken mobile phone. He also searched online for "ways to commit perfect murder" with results showing "most common traits of serial killers", Mr MacDonald said.

The court previously heard Mrs Grlakova and Ms Class both worked in the sex industry at the time of their deaths, and Mr Allen had a "strong dislike of sex workers".

Ms Class's body was found by three schoolchildren walking on the foreshore in North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, on 26 October 1997.

Jurors were told Mr Allen was acquitted of Ms Class's murder in February 2000, but "significantly more evidence" had since emerged.

The trial continues.