John Martin, 48, denies murdering his Russian partner, Natalia Strelchenko, 38, in the early hours of August 30 last year.
Miss Strelchenko was found at her home with head and neck injuries and died a short time later in hospital.
Also known as Natalia Strelle, she was a renowned solo pianist of international calibre who made her debut at the age of 12 with the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra.
Martin, also known as Jon Skogsbakken, is a Norwegian national and a double bass player who had been living with Miss Strelchenko in Newton Heath .
Miss Strelchenko had performed at New York's Carnegie Hall and London's Wigmore Hall, winning praise from the classical music press.
She had been artist in residence at Leeds College of Art and a research fellow at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
Martin also denies attempting to murder a male youth, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, on the same date.
The trial takes place at Manchester Crown Court.
“The presence of alcohol was very rarely a positive influence - it would often come before conflict between them”, Mr Hall said.
On August 29, Mr Martin became ‘anxious and distracted’ after she advertised their home on a property exchange website.
Shortly after Natalia returned with friends from her recording date, Mr Martin returned with food for a barbecue.
When she said she had already eaten he lost his temper and smashed a bottle of milk, saying ‘nobody told him anything or gave him any support’ in the house, and went to the garden shed to drink some cider.
He eventually came back inside, before going back out and telling one of his friends his problems. That witness thought he was looking at things from a ‘selfish’ point of view.
Later that night, he went out, and sent a text to a friend saying ‘hopeless’. Then another text to another friend, saying: ‘I’ve felt completely lonely all summer - Natalia’s kept me on distance since November 2014’.
These texts indicate his ‘state of mind’, Mr Hall said. He later returned home in a ‘threatening mood’.
Natalia told the Polish violinist staying that he was drunk and she was scared of him. This witness then saw Mr Martin throw Natalia and himself down the stairs, before strangling Natalia.
When she said she had already eaten he lost his temper and smashed a bottle of milk, saying ‘nobody told him anything or gave him any support’ in the house, and went to the garden shed to drink some cider.
He eventually came back inside, before going back out and telling one of his friends his problems. That witness thought he was looking at things from a ‘selfish’ point of view.
Later that night, he went out, and sent a text to a friend saying ‘hopeless’. Then another text to another friend, saying: ‘I’ve felt completely lonely all summer - Natalia’s kept me on distance since November 2014’.
These texts indicate his ‘state of mind’, Mr Hall said. He later returned home in a ‘threatening mood’.
Natalia told the Polish violinist staying that he was drunk and she was scared of him. This witness then saw Mr Martin throw Natalia and himself down the stairs, before strangling Natalia.
The trial is expected to last three weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment