Stephan Garner, 31, has admitted killing his pregnant girlfriend Amber O'Brien, 33, but denies murder, telling a jury he 'snapped' after a night of cocaine and alcohol when she told him she had aborted their unborn twins.
Garner accepts he caused the death of Ms O'Brien, who was pregnant with twins, at his flat in Blackley, north Manchester, but denies murder. Jurors at Manchester Crown Court heard Garner killed Ms O'Brien after the pair argued.
Attack and injuries
Ms O'Brien's body was found on the bathroom floor of an eighth floor flat in Blackley, where she had been living with Garner, the father of her nine-week-old unborn twins. She was naked, 'cold to the touch', and covered in a blue tarpaulin lying in 'pools of water'.
A pathologist found she suffered more than 60 separate stab, incised and puncture wounds, 32 of which were to her face and neck, during the attack in the early hours of April 18.
Garner's account
On Wednesday (October 21), Garner spent a second day in the witness box, questioned by his barrister, Ben Myers KC. Garner said of his relationship: "It just felt like it was sometimes impossible to resolve trivial issues. When arguments did occur she wouldn't move past it, she would continue. I loved her. I cared about her. I was sad about the way things were going. I wanted it to work."
Jurors previously heard a recording of a call Ms O'Brien made on April 15 requesting a termination of her pregnancy. Garner said he did not know she was planning any termination, adding: "No, none of it was discussed." He said she asked for a lift to hospital, but told him she was 'getting her kidney checked'. He said: "I felt a bit betrayed by the fact she lied to me about the reason she was going. I wanted to be present during that scan."
Night of the killing
On the evening of April 17, Garner had attended a pub in Swinton with a friend. He said: "We took some cocaine, we drank some alcohol at the pub." Later, he picked up Ms O'Brien and they returned to his flat at Somerton Court in Blackley with his friend.
Garner told the court they argued and she accused him of cheating. He claimed she dragged him out of a chair, saying: "She was getting more irate. Her behaviour escalated. She was going mad." He said she threatened to get another man to 'sort me out', 'batter me' and 'kill me', leaving him 'scared', 'worried' and 'intimidated'.
Garner said he followed her in his car after she left, wanting to 'try and resolve the conflict'. He told the jury she got into his vehicle 'voluntarily'. Once back at the flat, he said she threw a glass of water at him, and later accused him of flirting with her mum before slapping him.
Garner said he returned to the flat at about 6.20am, and claimed Ms O'Brien was 'argumentative, violent and aggressive'. He said she blocked his path and he felt a 'punch' to the back of his head. He said she then stood 'with a knife', adding: "I just recall her saying that she aborted both of my children that morning, because she didn't want to have children with a cheater."
Defence and plea
Garner claimed Ms O'Brien 'sliced' his hand with the knife, and said: "I guess it's a flight or fight response. She lunged at me with the same hand with the blade. I put both hands in to intercept the knife that has come towards me." He said they struggled over the knife, and he pushed down and it stabbed her. He claimed she then grabbed a second knife, and he got hold of it and stabbed her, though he could not remember how many times.
Asked why he 'lost control', Garner said: "The constant abuse throughout the relationship, whether it was verbal or physical. Second was her telling me that she had aborted my two children. I felt manipulated and betrayed. Her slashing me and trying to stab me with a knife. I snapped because of all this stuff that has happened."
Garner said he moved Ms O'Brien's body to the bath and 'destroyed' his mobile phone by throwing it in a lake. Asked if he accepted he killed Amber, he replied: "Yes." Asked if it was wrong, he said: "Of course." Garner, of Somerton Court, Blackley, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder. The trial continues.
