Murder accused admits struggle with partner Tracy Kearns

Tracy Kearns was reported as a missing person in May

A builder has told a murder trial he had not intended to kill his partner during a struggle.

Anthony Bird, 48, said he put Tracy Kearns' body in a tree house at their Kinmel Bay home in May this year before wrapping it in plastic and moving it in a trailer to near the Sandy Cove club.

He told Mold Crown Court he had just found out she was having an affair and was resigned to her leaving him.

The defendant accepts being responsible for her death but denies murder.

Giving his defence, he told the jury Miss Kearns was late coming back from work and he wanted to talk about the future.

He said they argued, and she left to go to a friend's house, but returned because she had a flat tyre. He refused to give her his car keys.

At one point Mr Bird said the victim screamed and he thought she said: "I'll kill you."

Bird and Miss Kearns worked at the Sandy Cove Club in Kinmel Bay

When he turned around she was staggering, he assumed she had tripped on a step or over the children's toys and was in a crouched position.

As she was staggering back to her feet she was clutching some scissors, he alleged.

They were in a raised position, in a clenched fist about head height with the blade pointing towards him, he told jurors.

"She was moving towards me," he said.

Bird said he pushed her backwards, she stumbled on the laminate floor and went on her back.

"I was clutching her hand and I lost my balance as well," he said, adding he landed on top of her.

"I don't remember what I did next," he said.

Gordon Cole QC, defending, asked: "Do you remember having your hand around Tracy's throat and squeezing her throat?"

He replied: "Not especially squeezing but pushing," adding that he no idea what he was thinking at that stage.

Mr Bird accepted that he repeatedly told lies to people, including police, when asked about what had happened.

He broke down in the witness box after saying Miss Kearns' death "was my fault".

He said his description in police interviews about being at breaking point was correct and that he had intended to propose to Miss Kearns on a planned trip to Paris.

The case continues.