A binman smoked cannabis and ordered a takeaway after bludgeoning his Scottish girlfriend to death in a lockdown row, a court has heard.
Wayne Morris, 47, pled guilty to killing Ruth Brown, 52, during the first national coronavirus lockdown but denies murder.
He told a jury he admits responsibility for her death despite having no recollection of attacking his partner of six years after they drank heavily and argued in her kitchen in Bognor, Sussex.
Ruth, a petite former barmaid from Edinburgh, had been struck at least four times with a plastic tray, expert evidence showed.
Her two skull fractures were consistent with being hit by the broken plastic tray found at the house.
Ruth was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was very concerned about contracting Covid-19. Morris moved in with her on April 1 last year.
The pair had been drinking in her back garden until about 4pm on April 8, the court heard.
Neighbour Martin Connelly said he heard a series of loud bangs at about 8pm that Wednesday evening.
Morris was asked why he didn’t call police or an ambulance when he found Ruth’s body in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor the next morning. He told the court: “My first thought was, ‘S***, what have I done?’ and I panicked.”
Philip Bennetts QC, for the Crown, asked him: “And by that you mean, ‘Is there something I can do to get away with this?’”
Morris replied: “That wasn’t the intention at all.”
Mr Bennetts said: “But you are clearing up. What’s the purpose of clearing up?”
Morris replied: “To me, it was out of sight out of mind. It’s not an easy thing to deal with.”
The jury have been told Morris admits moving Ruth’s body upstairs to the bedroom and leaving her there while he carried on drinking and smoking cannabis.
Later in the day he ordered a takeaway meal to be delivered to the house.
He decided to go on the run on the Saturday after sending a series of harrowing text messages to his daughter Skye and Ruth’s daughter Lauren.
He was arrested the following morning, April 12, on the Isle of Wight.
Mr Bennetts asked him: “Are you still trying to avoid the consequences of what you did?”
Morris said: “No.”
The trial at Brighton Law Courts continues.
