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Banker 'killed wife over affairs' | Banker 'killed wife over affairs' |
(21 minutes later) | |
An "obsessively jealous" City banker strangled his wife during a row because her affairs had become "all too much" for him, an Old Bailey jury has heard. | An "obsessively jealous" City banker strangled his wife during a row because her affairs had become "all too much" for him, an Old Bailey jury has heard. |
Neil Ellerbeck, 46, recorded hours of calls between his wife Katherine, 45, and and her lovers who included their son's tennis coach, the court heard. | |
The HSBC executive, who denies murder, also "squirreled away" money, fearing a divorce would cost him his wealth. | |
Mrs Ellerbeck's body was found at their home in north London in November. | Mrs Ellerbeck's body was found at their home in north London in November. |
Edward Brown QC, prosecuting, said: "The defendant is an ambitious and successful man. But he was a man with an obsessive and jealous nature. | Edward Brown QC, prosecuting, said: "The defendant is an ambitious and successful man. But he was a man with an obsessive and jealous nature. |
"The defendant acted out of very considerable anger which got the better of the man - at the moment when the build-up of his wife's behaviour became all too much for this obsessive and jealous man." | "The defendant acted out of very considerable anger which got the better of the man - at the moment when the build-up of his wife's behaviour became all too much for this obsessive and jealous man." |
Wife 'bugged' | |
Mr Ellerbeck lived with their two children in Enfield and "on the face of it had everything - a nice house and a private education for the children". | |
But both he and his wife had embarked on affairs, the prosecution said. | |
Mr Brown said: "During the last few years their son, a very promising tennis player, had been coached at the local tennis club by Patrick McAdam. | |
"Kate Ellerbeck herself also used the club. But her friendship with McAdam over time turned into something deeper and they began an affair. | |
"She also was intimate on one occasion with a friend she had known for many years." | |
The court was told that the infidelity was the spark that led Mr Ellerbeck, a "controlling, jealous and secretive man", to bug his wife and later commit murder. | |
He bugged the home telephone and used specialist gadgets to monitor text messages sent from her mobile phone. | |
Police found 127 hours of tape recordings on a memory stick at Mr Ellerbeck's Canary Wharf office. | |
They included a conversation between his wife and Mr McAdam discussing their physical relationship. | |
Mr Ellerbeck denies murder. |