Husband Claims Wife's Kinky Sex Inspired by 50 Shades in Suicide Trial
A husband accused of driving his wife to suicide through rape and abuse has told a court she enjoyed 'playfighting' and got ideas from watching 50 Shades of Grey. Christopher Trybus, 43, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court for the manslaughter of his wife, Tarryn Baird, who died aged 34 after hanging herself in November 2017.
Unprecedented Legal Case
In an unprecedented case, prosecutors argue Trybus is legally responsible for his wife's death despite being away when she was found dead in the garage of their Swindon home. He also faces charges of controlling and coercive behaviour and two counts of rape. The businessman is accused of a 'tsunami of abuse' that allegedly included strangling her with a belt and rope, battering her with a metal pole, and kicking and punching her in the face and abdomen.
Defence Claims Consensual Kinky Sex
Giving evidence, Trybus described their 'happy marriage' and said his wife encouraged a 'playful' sex life after being inspired by the erotic drama featuring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. He told jurors: 'She had watched the Fifty Shades movie and she had got some ideas.' Trybus claimed she liked being tied up and 'smacked' and enjoyed their 'kinky sex' and 'kung fu playfighting'.
The software consultant detailed using various restraints during what he insisted was consensual sex, including leather handcuffs, a rope, neck collar with leash, ball gag, whip, and blindfold. 'Playfighting, holding her against a wall, that sort of turned her on,' he said. 'There would be other times smacking her bum that would progress to spanking, that would slowly progress and she liked that, not to say I didn't like that.' He added it was 'cringingly embarrassing to talk about it'.
Contradictory Evidence Emerges
However, the court heard that in the run-up to her death, Baird made claims of abuse to her GP and an independent domestic violence advisor, showing bruises from kicks and punches and alleging her husband attempted to strangle her with a rope. Trybus suggested these claims were fantasy, stating: 'I loved her so much and we had a happy marriage, I would never dream she would say these things.' He described feeling a mix of emotions, struggling to put it into words.
When asked by his barrister Katy Thorne KC if he had ever been 'viciously violent' towards her, he insisted: 'No, absolutely not.' He told the court he loved his wife 'very much', describing her as a 'very nice, middle of the road girl'.
Background and Denials
The court heard the couple met at school in South Africa and later moved to England. Trybus said he had been a victim of a car-jacking in 2006 and Baird witnessed a shooting, which led them to relocate. He added he was unaware until later that Baird had taken an overdose while still in South Africa.
Earlier, Thorne told jurors Baird was a 'troubled' woman who made up accusations out of boredom with her 'mundane life', comparing her to someone who falsely claimed to be Madeleine McCann. Trybus denies all charges, describing his wife's suicide as 'absolutely heartbreaking and devastating, the worse thing I have ever had to deal with in my life by far'. The trial continues.
