Newmarket murder trial: Accused 'launched revenge attack' on ex

Charles Jessop denies the murder of Clare Nash at her home in Newmarket

A woman was stabbed and strangled by her ex-boyfriend in a "revenge attack", a court heard.

Charles Jessop, 29, is accused of the murder of mother of two Clare Nash, 33, at her flat in Newmarket, Suffolk, on 16 January 2020.

Ipswich Crown Court was told Mr Jessop was "jealous" about Ms Nash's new relationship, and that she had been visited by police the day she died.

Mr Jessop, of Bakers Row, Newmarket, denies murder.

Prosecutor Mark Cotter QC said Mr Jessop took a knife and cycled to Ms Nash's flat, where he waited until she returned home before attacking her.

He said: "This was a revenge attack borne of jealousy by a man who wouldn't accept that Clare Nash had rejected him and entered into a new relationship.

"The knife broke during the attack, which likely explains why he went on to strangle her."

Ms Nash's friend Peter Claringbold, who lived with her, "was inside and heard screaming coming from the front doorstep", Mr Cotter said.

'Obsessed'

The court was told Mr Claringbold had heard Mr Jessop shouting "you're going to die".

He dialled 999 but Ms Nash was pronounced dead at the scene.

A pathologist could not say whether Ms Nash died by strangulation or from blood loss, with her cause of death recorded as a combination of both.

Clare Nash was described as a "beloved" mother of two

Mr Cotter said there had been a "number of violent incidents" as the defendant's relationship with Ms Nash deteriorated.

When she began a new relationship, Mr Jessop "continued to be obsessed" with Ms Nash, he said.

Ms Nash had spoken to police about him on the morning of the day she died and the level of risk to her was assessed as "medium", Mr Cotter said.

"She recorded problems she was having with Charles Jessop but didn't want to make a statement," he said.

She was "given advice" and she agreed to email police a recording of one of Mr Jessop's phone calls, but the recording did not arrive until the following day - "probably due to the size of the file", said the prosecutor.

Mr Cotter said the defendant's defence would be "seeking to raise issues as to the state of his mind at the time of the killing".

He would claim an antidepressant drug affected him, Mr Cotter added.

The trial continues.