'Mutilated' body of mum-of-four found buried under pile of clothes, trial hears
04.04.2022 - 20:35
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A man has denied murdering his estranged wife after being accused of leaving her body dumped under a pile of clothes in a sealed room. Russell Marsh told a court that he was responsible for the mum-of-four's death but said he did not intend to kill her during his murder trial.
Jade Marsh's "mutilated" body was discovered in a room that had been sealed off with a dressing gown cord, Mold Crown Court heard. The 27-year-old was found at her home in Shotton, Flintshire, North Wales, on August 26 last year.
The court heard how Russell Marsh, 29, had been filmed by officers at a police station telling them he had “done something horrible” just moments before his ex-partner's body was found. Marsh, of Chevrons Road in Shotton, denies murder and an alternative count of manslaughter, Wales Online reports.
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Jade, who also used the surname Ward, was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency services attended. A pathology report found that she had suffered multiple wounds “across her body”, including her face and arms, while grip marks left her bruised and there was evidence of “defensive” wounds sustained around the hands showing she had “made efforts to fight off” her attacker.
Marsh was working an overnight shift for his employer Bio Energy in Ellesmere Port on the night Ms Ward was killed, prosecutor Michael Jones QC told the jury. He said the defendant had told his supervisor that he had to leave several hours into his shift because his brother had taken an overdose and needed to go to hospital, a claim that the court heard was “completely untrue”.
Marsh was tracked by CCTV, ANPR cameras, and phone masts heading into north Wales