Welsh mother dies after being stabbed repeatedly in front of toddler daughter by 'jealous' boyfriend, court hears

The 19-year-old's on-off boyfriend Dylan Harries has gone on trial accused of murdering Miss Evemy while her 22-month-old daughter watched.

The court heard 22-year-old Harries, who denies murder, went to Miss Evemy's house at around 5pm carrying a knife which he had taken from his own home about two miles away.

Patrick Harrington QC, for the prosecution, said Harries could be seen on the CCTV "adjusting the knife" in his hand as he walked to her house.

"He arrived at the home of his sometime girlfriend Katrina Evemy," said Mr Harrington.

"He went into the house and inflicted appalling injuries on her by stabbing her repeatedly with the knife he had taken from his home.

"A gravely aggravating feature of this case is that the attack was in the presence of the victim's young daughter, who herself became covered in her mother's blood."

Mr Harrington said Harries also bit Miss Evemy on the arm during the attack, leaving marks on her arm through her clothing and DNA on her clothes.

The court heard Harries, of Panteg, Felinfoel, Llanelli, stayed in the house for 40 to 45 minutes without contacting the emergency services before raising the alarm with neighbours and claiming Miss Evemy had been attacked before he arrived.

Mr Harrington said of the defendant: "He still maintains a pretence that he was not responsible for her injuries but that he had happened upon her lying dying on the kitchen floor having been attacked by some unknown person.

"This is all a lie, he was the person responsible for the attack upon Katrina."

Jurors were told Miss Evemy died in hospital on April 19 without regaining consciousness, despite the efforts of medical staff and the emergency services.

Mr Harrington, who described Harries as "by nature, possessive and jealous", said the defendant found out on the day of the attack Miss Evemy had shared a "pretty innocent" kiss with another man a few weeks previously while in a nightclub.

The jury heard how Harries found the number of the man who Miss Evemy had kissed in her phone and started to send messages to him pretending to be her until the other man said they had kissed.

Then Harries sent a message saying: "Strange this is her boyfriend and she denied it."

Mr Harrington said the other man's response - "haha well I ain't got f*** all to lie for have I and this problem is between you and her isn't it" - was sent at "almost exactly the time" Harries left his house to go to Miss Evemy's home.

Miss Evemy had also sent a message to Harries just after 4pm which said: "Maybe it is better if we break up."

Mr Harrington said the phone evidence, which included other messages between the two men and between Miss Evemy and Harries, who worked at DR Taxis in Llanelli, were "evidence of what led the defendant to embark on this savage attack".

Neighbour Craig Howe was at home when he saw a man who he thought was jumping over the walls between houses and who was covered in blood.

Mr Harrington said Mr Howe spoke to Harries who said his partner had been stabbed, and then rang 999, calling for an ambulance at 5.49pm.

The court heard Harries ran to another neighbour's home saying his girlfriend had been stabbed and he needed help.

Daniel Hassan ran out of his house and into Miss Evemy's where he tried to staunch the bleeding from a wound to her neck with a tea towel from a nearby pile of washing.

Mr Harrington said Mr Hassan would tell jurors about what he described as "some pretty odd behaviour by Dylan Harries" who was "in a temper".

"He (Harries) then picked up the murder weapon which was on the floor, the one he had used to stab Katrina, and threw it across the floor," said Mr Harrington.

The jury heard a knife with similar markings had later been found at Harries' home.

Harries left the house after throwing the knife while Mr Hassan continued applying pressure to Miss Evemy's neck, berating the paramedics when they arrived for taking so long to get there.

The court heard Miss Evemy went into cardiac arrest at the scene and while paramedics managed to revive her and she was taken into emergency surgery once at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, she was later found to have suffered brain stem death.

A police officer who went to the house described the scene there as a "bloodbath", Mr Harrington added.

Mr Harrington said Miss Evemy was last active on her phone, looking at her web history and Facebook messages between 4.41pm and 4.45pm.

He said: "It means if there is any substance in the defendant's account somebody, not him, must have gone to the house between 4.45 and 4.55, made this diabolical attack on Katrina, left the house covered in blood and not been seen by anyone."

The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.