Patricia Wilson murder accused protests as judge reads out charges
|
Version 0 of 1. A gardener accused of killing a British immigrant in rural France after their brief romance broke down has told a court that the claims against him are “lies”. Jean-Louis Cayrou, 54, is charged with murdering his alleged former lover Patricia Wilson, 58, who disappeared from her home in the Aveyron region of south-west France in August 2012. Her body has never been found. Wilson, who was originally from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, moved to Aveyron in 2008 with her partner, Donald Marcus. Trial judge Regis Cayrol said Wilson first met Cayrou between March and April 2012 and they quickly became lovers. But relations between them deteriorated by mid-July that year, the court in Rodez was told. Marcus had returned to the UK to be treated for multiple sclerosis six months before the relationship between Cayrou and Wilson began, the court heard. At the end of July, Wilson confided in friends about a violent argument she had allegedly had with Cayrou when she tried to end their relationship. Her friends claimed that three days later, on 25 July, Cayrou entered her house near the village of Vabre-Tizac while she was sleeping and cut the electricity, before attempting to suffocate her, the court heard. He is alleged to have told her: “I am doing this to show that you need a man in the house.” On 8 August, Wilson returned to the UK for a visit, and was said to have been bombarded with calls from Cayrou, the judge said. She went back to France on 17 August, and was dropped off in Vabre-Tizac by her friend Fiona McKinley. But friends soon became worried when she failed to contact them, eventually letting themselves into her house on 22 August to check on her. They decided to call police when they discovered the electricity had been cut and found traces of blood. Blood and DNA from Wilson were found in the boot of Cayrou’s car, on a head torch and a strap, the court heard. Cayrou protested as the charges against him were read out by Cayrol on Monday, saying they were “lies”. The defendant, who lived in a caravan in La Salvetat Peyralès, Aveyron, denies one charge of premeditated murder. The trial continues. |