A boyfriend raped and murdered his partner less than three weeks after she warned police he was ‘controlling’ and could ‘flip’ at any time, a court heard today.
Marine engineering worker Stephen Sexton, 38, strangled Joanna Derkacz, 37, a recruitment consultant, after their relationship broke down, jurors were told.
Prosecutors allege Sexton, a father of one, fractured her neck with his forearm or the crook of his elbow after subjecting her to 12 months of ‘controlling and coercive’ behaviour.
A court was told Sexton was on police’s radar as less than three weeks before Miss Derkacz’s death she warned officers he was ‘evil’.
Miss
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