Woman strangled and dismembered by man she met in pub, court told

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/10/tracey-woodford-strangled-pub-court-pontypridd

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A woman was strangled in a sexually motivated attack by a man she had flirted with in a pub, and her body was dismembered in an attempt to cover up the murder, a court has heard.

Tracey Woodford, 47, met Christopher May, 50, at the Skinny Dog pub in Pontypridd, south Wales, on 21 April and they left together after closing time, Cardiff crown court was told.

When Woodford failed to return home and calls to her mobile went unanswered, her family contacted police. Officers went to May’s flat, pulled back the shower curtain in his bathroom and discovered human body parts, the court heard.

Roger Thomas, prosecuting, said: “The defendant admits his actions were responsible in causing her death but disputes his conduct amounts to murder.

“The prosecution says that this was a brutal, vicious and sexually motivated murder. After her death she was mutilated and dismembered. These actions were carried out deliberately and methodically with the intention of concealing her body parts and thereby evading detection.”

The jury was told that Woodford lived with her mother and brother in the village of Rhydyfelin. “Apart from collecting money at the post office, going to the shops and visiting local pubs, she did not go out very much,” Thomas said.

On the afternoon of 21 April Woodford went into town to buy a ring before deciding to go for a drink. She spent the afternoon drinking and was then refused alcohol in two bars after appearing unsteady on her feet.

At the Skinny Dog she struck up a conversation with May and two of his friends. Someone in the pub asked her if she would go home with them if they bought her more drinks. She said she was “not that kind of girl”, but the group continued joking around, the court heard.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of Woodford walking with May before midnight, Woodford wearing the defendant’s coat.

Thomas said that when police went to May’s flat, the defendant claimed Woodford had told him to “piss off” after he tried to “cop a feel” under a railway bridge, and that was the last he had seen of her.

However, May was described as showing signs of “considerable unease”, with his voice changing and his hands shaking. The two officers carried out a search of the flat and were told “there’s nothing in there” before they entered the bathroom.

May denies murder. The trial continues.