Former Shropshire border pub licensee murder trial told of row

A former pub licensee from near the Shropshire border was strangled by her 51-year-old partner after the pair had an argument, a jury was told.

The body of Lisa Ruth Consterdine, 48, was found at her home in Oxfordshire on March 1, 2010, Oxford Crown Court heard yesterday.

Sean Freaney, of Purslane Drive, Bicester, is charged with the murder of Miss Consterdine, a former licensee at the Crown Hotel in Audlem, near Market Drayton. He denies the charge.

The court heard Miss Consterdine was found unconscious in her bedroom and despite the efforts of police and paramedics, she was declared dead at the scene.

Mr Neil Moore, prosecuting, told the court the couple had been in a relationship "for a few years" and lived at the same address.

He told the jury there had been some tension between them prior to the incident and that they were known to have had arguments relating to drinking too much alcohol.

The court heard Freaney had rung 999 twice on March 1 admitting to strangling his girlfriend and threatened to kill the other people in the house.

Mr Moore said: "Both the defendant and Lisa Consterdine drank more than they should have which sometimes led to arguments between the two of them.

"In his two 999 calls the defendant says what he has done, how he had done it and why he had done it. It is the prosecution's belief that after an argument the defendant strangled Lisa Consterdine. It was during this she tried to claw at his face to stop him.

"The defendant must have intended to cause her serious bodily injuries."

Miss Consterdine is believed to have moved away from Audlem about 15 years ago, but was known for running pubs in the area in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The trial continues.

By James Pugh