An ex-girlfriend of a Shropshire heroin addict accused of murder told a jury she would have been his first victim if she had not ended her relationship with him.
Michelle Smith told Stafford Crown Court yesterday how Leon Edwards pushed her down the stairs, kept her prisoner in her home and tried to pull her teeth out with pliers.
Edwards, 26, of Wellington, is accused of murdering Claire Comber.
It is alleged that the murder of Miss Comber, Edwards’s girlfriend, took place between December 31 last year and January 10. Edwards, of Harvey Crescent, Arleston, denies the charge.
He admits manslaughter but claims he did not intend to kill her.
Miss Comber’s body was found on a bunk bed at her home in Woollam Road, Arleston, up to eight days after Edwards killed her. She died from ligature strangulation.
Miss Smith gave evidence through a videolink on the second day of the trial.
Miss Smith, who was in a relationship with Edwards for six years from when she was 16, told a jury how he turned “evil” when he was on drugs.
The 26-year-old told how she had to have stitches in her head after he threw garden shears at her, pushed her down the stairs and often beat her.
She claimed he also cut off her ponytail as she slept.
She said she became a prisoner after he attacked her as he made her stay indoors until the visible bruises had gone.
She was even forced to hide under the stairs when her mother visited her, she claimed.
She said Edwards’s drug problem spiralled out of control and he admitted “I’m a heroin addict”.
The jury also heard how Edwards allegedly told Miss Smith he wanted to make her “look prettier” by straightening out her teeth, before pinning her down and trying to pull her teeth out with metal pliers.
After describing the incident with the pliers, Miss Edwards said: “After that incident I knew enough was enough and if I didn’t go I’d end up dead.”
The trial continues.
By Kirsty Marston
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