Biggleswade: Man killed partner after years of abuse, court told

An inquest heard Sarah Albone died from obstruction to her airways caused by head injuries

A man accused of murdering his partner and hiding her body in a suitcase inside a wheelie bin, went "numb" when he attacked her, a court heard.

Sarah Albone, 38, was discovered dead in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, on 25 February after her family reported her missing.

Matthew Waddell, 35, who lived with her in Winston Crescent, denies murdering the mother-of-three.

He told jurors he snapped "after years of abuse" from the mother-of-three.

Prosecutors said a post-mortem examination show Ms Albone, who had multiple sclerosis, was killed in a "frenzied and horrific attack".

Warning: Article contains distressing detail

Jurors at Luton Crown Court were earlier told the couple had a "toxic relationship" and that Mr Waddell had developed an "obsession" with Ms Albone.

Giving evidence, Mr Waddell said one night in late November she started shouting at him when he went downstairs.

He told the jury: "It was like a curtain came down. It is a feeling like you would not believe. You literally go numb. You stop feeling."

Asked by his barrister Naeem Mian KC why he did not leave her, he said: "Because I loved her and wanted it to work. No matter how many times I left . How many times she kicked me out. We got back together all the time."

"I loved her. I was actually in love with the woman. Every time we broke up she said she needed me," he added.

He said after her death he "felt free".

Matthew Waddell denies murdering Sarah Albone after her body was found at their home in Biggleswade

He denied exerting controlling behaviour over his partner, saying "she did what she did, when she wanted".

Jurors were told he bought beer and cocaine after her death and he claimed he was destroyed by her death and unable to sleep for more than a week.

Mr Waddell planned a "sophisticated" ruse following her death, sending messages to her friends and family from her phone claiming she was in hospital in London and unable to speak, prosecutors allege.

The court previously heard Mr Waddell wrote a letter admitting stamping on Ms Albone's head.

The trial continues.