Chelmsford chef denies murder of man in bed with ex-girlfriend

Jurors were told Adrian Ellingford said "someone" was in the house before collapsing from the bed

A chef has denied killing a man who was in bed with his ex-girlfriend.

Jurors have heard how Adrian Ellingford, 44, was stabbed twice in the back at Stephanie Breame's home in Nelson Grove, Chelmsford, Essex, in the early hours of 25 July last year.

Marek Hecko, of Rookes Crescent in the city, is on trial charged with murder.

Giving evidence at Chelmsford Crown Court, the 26-year-old said he was not at the scene that night.

Mr Hecko told jurors he had never met Mr Ellingford and had no contact with him in the hours before his death.

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The court heard how Mr Hecko, who is from Slovakia but first came to the UK in 2019, started a relationship with Ms Breame in October or November 2021.

Mr Hecko said it ended by May 2022 but the jury were told he repeatedly messaged her, carried out various internet searches of her name and took a photo of the bar where she worked.

He was working as a waiter and chef at two separate restaurants at the time.

Mr Hecko said he did not know Ms Breame had been leaving a patio door open overnight during the hot weather in July.

Jurors have heard how she woke when Mr Ellingford made a comment about "someone" in the house before collapsing at the end of the bed with a knife embedded in his back.

In an 11-minute 999 call, Ms Breame's mother Mary MacNamara, who lived in the same house, told an operator she did not know who the "attacker" was and they had left the house.

The court has heard Mr Hecko's DNA was found on the handle of a knife discovered downstairs.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told Mr Hecko arrived at the police cordon at 07:40 BST having drunk two bottles of wine

A forensic scientist told the court it was unlikely, but not impossible, the knife could have been contaminated with Mr Hecko's DNA because of his presence in the house three months previously during the relationship.

Defence witness Kerri Allen said: "I cannot eliminate the possibility that a secondary transfer might account for the observed result if that knife handle had been in contact with a surface which contained sufficient levels of Mr Hecko's DNA."

Mr Hecko was arrested shortly after 07:40 BST on 25 July on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly after he arrived at the cordon and allegedly told a police officer "I know everything".

He was arrested on suspicion of murder at 16:45 the same day at Chelmsford police station and "exercised his right to silence" when questioned three times by police during the following two days.

The trial continues.