A SYDNEY man has told a jury he used a power saw to cut up his girlfriend's body after she hit her head on a coffee table when they fell during an argument.
Neal Richardson said he panicked after realising Kiralee Grant was dead as he thought "police are going to definitely think I have killed her''.
"Then I did what I did in the bathtub,'' he said in the NSW Supreme Court today.
Richardson, 45, denies murdering Ms Grant, 41, in April last year, but he has admitted dismembering her body and dumping her remains on a NSW rural property.
The crown has said Ms Grant, a prostitute who lived with Richardson at Malabar, was due to give evidence against him on April 19.
He had been charged with assaulting her in October 2009.
Richardson told the jury he loved Ms Grant but was trying to curb her excessive use of alcohol and drugs.
On April 17, she was "extremely intoxicated'', had taken tablets and wanted to return to Kings Cross, but Richardson said he did not want her to go.
After she started to hit him trying to get past the front door, "I pushed her hands away from me'', he said.
"We both fell over and she smashed her head on the coffee table in the lounge room and she remained on the floor and she didn't move.''
He became distraught, as "my girlfriend is lying there, dead, changing colour''.
Because of the assault charge against him and recent occasions when police had pulled him over, Richardson said he panicked and took Ms Grant into the bathroom.
"I went to the laundry and got a power saw and dismembered her body, because I was initially just going to dispose of the body, but I was fearful of being seen taking the body out of the unit.''
Richardson said he started on Ms Grant's feet and "worked my way up'', cutting pieces that would fit into garbage bags.
His barrister Graham Turnbull SC asked if he could still "see'' what he had done.
"I see it every day, several times a day. That image is instilled in my mind,'' he said.
Mr Turnbull asked if Richardson had killed Ms Grant to stop her going to court.
"No, she never had any intention of going to court,'' he replied.
Ms Grant had asked his forgiveness for making false claims and had told him she would not go to court and the charge would be dismissed, he said.
Richardson said he had never struck Ms Grant, but agreed he had tied cable ties around her wrists and ankles - at her request - on the night of the alleged assault.
Ms Grant had been drinking, had taken tablets and told him she wanted to be with her murdered twin sister, he said.
Richardson said Ms Grant had told him her sister was murdered in Brisbane in 1991, that she'd had cable ties around her hands, wire around her body, her head had been half severed and from the waist down she had been burned.
''(Ms Grant) wanted me to kill her in a similar way to the way her sister was murdered,'' he said.
Richardson said he tied the cable ties around her ankles and wrists because he was concerned about the neighbours and her yelling.
"It seemed to calm her down,'' he said, adding that he later unclipped the ties and they went to sleep.
Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/sydney-man-tells-jury-of-dismembering-girlfriend/story-e6frf7kf-1226195926451
Neal Richardson said he panicked after realising Kiralee Grant was dead as he thought "police are going to definitely think I have killed her''.
"Then I did what I did in the bathtub,'' he said in the NSW Supreme Court today.
Richardson, 45, denies murdering Ms Grant, 41, in April last year, but he has admitted dismembering her body and dumping her remains on a NSW rural property.
The crown has said Ms Grant, a prostitute who lived with Richardson at Malabar, was due to give evidence against him on April 19.
He had been charged with assaulting her in October 2009.
Richardson told the jury he loved Ms Grant but was trying to curb her excessive use of alcohol and drugs.
On April 17, she was "extremely intoxicated'', had taken tablets and wanted to return to Kings Cross, but Richardson said he did not want her to go.
After she started to hit him trying to get past the front door, "I pushed her hands away from me'', he said.
"We both fell over and she smashed her head on the coffee table in the lounge room and she remained on the floor and she didn't move.''
He became distraught, as "my girlfriend is lying there, dead, changing colour''.
Because of the assault charge against him and recent occasions when police had pulled him over, Richardson said he panicked and took Ms Grant into the bathroom.
"I went to the laundry and got a power saw and dismembered her body, because I was initially just going to dispose of the body, but I was fearful of being seen taking the body out of the unit.''
Richardson said he started on Ms Grant's feet and "worked my way up'', cutting pieces that would fit into garbage bags.
His barrister Graham Turnbull SC asked if he could still "see'' what he had done.
"I see it every day, several times a day. That image is instilled in my mind,'' he said.
Mr Turnbull asked if Richardson had killed Ms Grant to stop her going to court.
"No, she never had any intention of going to court,'' he replied.
Ms Grant had asked his forgiveness for making false claims and had told him she would not go to court and the charge would be dismissed, he said.
Richardson said he had never struck Ms Grant, but agreed he had tied cable ties around her wrists and ankles - at her request - on the night of the alleged assault.
Ms Grant had been drinking, had taken tablets and told him she wanted to be with her murdered twin sister, he said.
Richardson said Ms Grant had told him her sister was murdered in Brisbane in 1991, that she'd had cable ties around her hands, wire around her body, her head had been half severed and from the waist down she had been burned.
''(Ms Grant) wanted me to kill her in a similar way to the way her sister was murdered,'' he said.
Richardson said he tied the cable ties around her ankles and wrists because he was concerned about the neighbours and her yelling.
"It seemed to calm her down,'' he said, adding that he later unclipped the ties and they went to sleep.
Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/sydney-man-tells-jury-of-dismembering-girlfriend/story-e6frf7kf-1226195926451
