A man accused of murdering a mother-of-two was “never” bothered by sleeping next to her body as he stored it in his bedroom for days after her death, a court has heard.
Charlotte Teeling was discovered naked, apart from a stocking, in the bed at Richard Bailey’s flat in the Kingstanding area of Birmingham on 2 March, a week after she had disappeared.
Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court have already been told Ms Teeling was discovered with pornography scattered around her body.
Bailey, 41, denies murder, claiming the 33-year-old died accidentally during “rough sex” after being asked to be choked.
Interviews conducted when the defendant was first arrested were read in court, detailing how he told police about sleeping in the same room as Ms Teeling’s body, which sat shrouded in a duvet.
“Did her dead body disturb or scare you?” the officer conducting the interview asked Bailey.
“No, it never, to be fair,” he replied, adding: “I knew it would lead to me going straight to prison. I wanted to stay out as long as possible. I wanted freedom.”
Asked if his actions contributed to her death, he said: “I would say they did not help.”
Ms Teeling disappeared after getting on a train from Worcester to Birmingham and heading to a nightclub.
Earlier in the trial, the court was shown CCTV of how Ms Teeling met Bailey, who she had never had contact with before, by chance, in a city centre shop at around 5.30am on 23 February.
They were shown in the footage kissing and cuddling a short time later, before getting a taxi back to Bailey's address.
Bailey claimed Ms Teeling took crack cocaine after getting back to his flat, while he had done half a gram of cocaine. They had consensual sex, he said.
Jurors have already heard that a post-mortem indicated she died as a result of forceful compression of the neck.
In interview, Bailey claimed he “choked” the 33-year-old only after she had asked him to, and that he was “a bit scared”.
He claims after realising Ms Teeling had stopped breathing, he attempted to resuscitate her, but never called 999 for assistance.
Bailey admitted sleeping in the flat “a few times” after her death, but denied touching her body, adding “nothing changed” about his day-to-day routine afterwards.
Asked why he did not then call emergency services when it became clear Ms Teeling needed help, he replied: “Yeah, I did my best. I thought she'd come back. I did everything I could.”
When detectives again suggested to Bailey he had failed to do “everything” in his power to help, he replied: “Mmm, yeah.”
Bailey denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.
The trial continues.
Additional reporting by PA
