Sinead Wooding death: Man accused of 'controlling' wife

The body of Sinead Wooding was discovered by joggers on 14 May

A woman accused her husband of controlling her in the hours before she was killed, a jury heard.

Akshar Ali told Leeds Crown Court his wife Sinead Wooding drunkenly harangued him before storming out of a friend's kitchen and vanishing.

He said despite calling and texting her phone he never saw her again.

Mr Ali, 27, of Scott Hall Road, Leeds, and Yasmin Ahmed, 27, of Reginald Mount, Potternewton, both deny murdering 26-year-old Ms Wooding.

On 10 May the couple attended a get-together at Ms Ahmed's house. Mr Ali said his wife, who he claimed had consumed half a bottle of vodka, "went off on one" when she realised her best friend had not been invited.

"She started getting argumentative, saying that I was controlling her," he said.

The "aggressive" row, which was punctuated by a loud noise, culminated in Ms Wooding walking out.

'Clattering bang'

Mr Ali described the "clattering bang" as the sound of a high chair being knocked to the floor.

Mr Ali said he expected to find his wife at home and that over the next few days he made repeated attempts to contact her, but to no avail.

He and Ms Ahmed are accused of killing the mother of four, who was allegedly beaten and stabbed at Ms Ahmed's home.

Her badly burned body was found in woodland by joggers on 14 May.

Mr Ali's mother Aktahr Bi, 45, denies assisting an offender by procuring a vehicle and assisting in the disposal of Ms Wooding's body.

His brother Asim Ali, 21, also denies assisting an offender by procuring a vehicle and assisting in the disposal and burning of her body.

A fifth defendant, Vicky Briggs, 25, denies assisting an offender by helping clean up and burn material after the murder.

The trial continues.