Woman accused of murdering ex-partner on Christmas Day ‘not a violent person'
Kirsty Carless, 33, is accused of plunging a knife into 31-year-old Louis Price's heart in the early hours of December 25 2024 in an attack 'motivated by anger and jealousy and fuelled by cocaine and alcohol' after a friend sent her a picture of his dating profile on Tinder, Stafford Crown Court heard.
Prosecutors allege Carless, of Haling Way in Cannock, Staffordshire, took a kitchen knife in a taxi from her home to Mr Price's parents' address in Elm Road, Norton Canes, where she expected to find him with a woman.
CCTV showed Carless 'stalking' him around the garden before he was later found with a single stab wound to the chest on the conservatory floor.
The court was told Mr Price was considered by police to be 'at very high risk of domestic abuse' before his death.
On Tuesday, Carless told the court she went to Mr Price's parents' address as she believed he had taken money from inside a card she had in her home.
Before getting a taxi, she said she phoned him to see if he had taken the money, but he did not answer, so she went to his parents' address.
Carless's defence barrister asked what she took with her, and she said a set of keys and phone, and asked if she had a knife about her person, she said 'no'.
Asked why she told the taxi driver she would only be a minute, Carless said: 'Because I was going to get the money and come back.'
Carless said she opened the front door and shouted but no one answered, then went upstairs.
Asked if she thought he might be with another woman, she said: 'I didn't care whether he was in bed with somebody else, I wasn't interested.'
Carless then said she was in the kitchen, and there was 'no one about', then a light came on outside.
Asked what happened next, Carless said: 'I remember being in the conservatory, that was it the next thing I knew I was in the kitchen.
'Louis was sat on the floor. Then I panicked and ran off.'
Carless's defence barrister asked her why she picked up a knife, and she said she was going 'to go and destroy the caravan', and asked why, she said as far as she was aware, he had taken the money.
Asked what she remembers, she said: 'I remember being in the conservatory, I see Louis, the next thing I know I was stood by the breakfast bar…' and she said Mr Price said 'you've hurt me you stupid bitch'.
She added: 'He was coming back to his feet and I just panicked then.'
Asked if she remembers chasing Mr Price around the garden, she said: 'No.'
Asked if she has any recollection of stabbing Mr Price, she said: 'No, I just remember him holding his chest.'
Asked as far as she was aware, did she intend to kill him, she said: 'No, I'm not a violent person.'
And asked as far as she was aware, did she intend to cause him serious harm, she said: 'No.'
Carless told the court she felt 'fear' when asked what emotions she remembers from that night.
The defendant said she does not remember what she did with the knife.
She said she went to her mother's. Asked why she did not answer any questions when she was interviewed by police, she said she was advised by the legal team.
Asked how she feels about the matter now, she said 'disgusted'.
Carless's defence barrister said the court has heard the defendant has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Asked about an incident in November, being questioned by her defence barrister, Carless said she was throwing Mr Price's stuff down the stairs, when he pinned her down, and she was then pushing him off her.
And asked if she assaulted him that day, Carless said 'no'.
Jonas Hankin KC, prosecuting, told Carless the prosecution's case is that she intended to kill Mr Price. She replied: 'No.'
Later, Mr Hankin put to Carless that she was 'jealous and possessive' towards Mr Price, and she replied: 'No.'
Mr Hankin added: 'And if he spoke to another woman, you would assault him.'
Carless replied: 'No.'
When Mr Hankin put to the defendant that she lost her temper when she saw the Tinder profile, she replied: 'No.'
After he put to her that she 'couldn't bear to think of him with somebody else on Christmas Eve', Carless said: 'He already had another girlfriend.'
Mr Hankin put to her that during the November incident, she shouted at him and strangled him, and she replied no to both.
Carless denies murder and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place in relation to the fatal incident on December 25 2024 and one count of intentional strangulation and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to the incident on November 11 2024.
The trial continues.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Moment police snare suspects after £100k Apple device raid on phone shop
This is the moment police found a haul of Apple devices worth nearly £100,000 in the back seat of a car after masked raiders hit a phone shop in central London. Officers were called to reports of a burglary at the O2 store in Tottenham Court Road on 24 July, where a gang reportedly entered the shop wearing balaclavas and made off with around 100 iPhones and scores of Apple Watches. Three men aged 25, 24, and 18 were arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary minutes later in nearby Cranleigh Street. A search on the car also uncovered a large machete. All three remain in custody.
The Guardian
24 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Devon and Cornwall crime commissioner sorry for multiple bodies claim
A police and crime commissioner has apologised for claiming that multiple human remains had been discovered in woodland in Cornwall at the centre of a murder investigation. Alison Hernandez told a meeting of the Devon and Cornwall police and crime panel that 'dead bodies' had been found at Sticker, near St Austell, and investigations were continuing to establish exactly how many. Devon and Cornwall police said in response that the body of one man had been recovered from woods and no other remains had been found. Police and forensic experts have been carrying out extensive inquiries in the woodland since the discovery of the body of 43-year-old Daniel Coleman. James Desborough, 39, is accused of murdering Coleman, from St Austell, between 2 June and 7 July. He is due back before Truro crown court next month. Hernandez said on Friday evening: 'In trying to be helpful I responded to an operational question at the police and crime panel, however, I was not fully up to date with the facts of the investigation. 'I apologise for any alarm this may have caused. The police have operational primacy over these matters.' Det Supt Jon Bancroft, with Devon and Cornwall police, said: 'We currently have three separate murder investigations being conducted in the Cornwall area. 'I have oversight of all of these investigations at this time, and can confirm they are being carried out independently of each other and are not believed to be linked. 'I can categorically state that we have recovered remains believed to be those of Daniel Coleman only from an area of woodland in Sticker.' Police are also investigating the discovery of the body of Lee Hockey, 50, who was found in separate woodland between Truro and Probus on 1 July. A third murder inquiry is under way after a fatal fire at a residential property in Newquay on 22 July. The body of a man in his 30s was found in the property, with a 33-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder.
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Police chief apologises for claiming multiple bodies had been found in a murder probe after two bodies were discovered within 10 miles of each other
A police and crime commissioner has apologised after claiming multiple bodies had been found in a murder probe after two bodies were discovered within 10 miles of each other. Two murder investigations were launched in Cornwall after two bodies were found in separate woodlands. Earlier this month, Daniel Coleman's remains were found in Paramoor Woods near the Cornish village of Sticker. Officers had been scouring the area for several months - aided by specialist teams from the National Crime Agency - when they found the 43-year-old's remains. Mr Coleman vanished last month from St Austell and is thought to have died between June 2 and July 7. A man has been charged with his murder. The body of Lee Hockey, 50, was also found in a nearby woodland between Truro and Probus on July 1. Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, previously told a panel several bodies were discovered as part of the investigation into Mr Coleman's death. 'We've found dead bodies in that wood,' Ms Hernandez said, adding that officers were trying to work out 'how many were there'. The Police and Crime Commissioner has since issued an apology after these claims were refuted by the local police force. Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: 'In trying to be helpful I responded to an operational question at the Police and Crime Panel today, however, I was not fully up to date with the facts of the investigation. I apologise for any alarm this may have caused. 'The police have operational primacy over these matters. Any investigation will unfold rapidly and I was not in possession of all the facts at that time.' Detective Superintendent Jon Bancroft previously confirmed Mr Hockey's death is being investigated separately. 'We currently have three separate murder investigations being conducted in the Cornwall area,' Mr Bancroft said, referring to a third inquiry which was launched after a fatal fire at a residential property in Newquay on July 22. He continued: 'I have oversight of all of these investigations at this time, and can confirm they are being carried out independently of each other and are not believed to be linked. 'I can categorically state that we have recovered remains believed to be those of Daniel Coleman only from an area of woodland in Sticker. No other remains have been located at this scene to date.' It comes after Ms Hernandez said it had been necessary to bring in extra support to aid the investigation. 'Some of the elements of that operation I can't speak about but some of the things are very obvious,' she said. 'As you know there is a large crime scene that has been identified in Cornwall that is requiring a lot of effort to even scene guard the area. 'The level of expertise, some of the mutual aid we've brought in, is expertise in specific types of investigations that we didn't have. 'The National Crime Agency is supporting the organisation at the moment. 'I want to thank all the other forces that are coming in at a very busy time for themselves to offer mutual aid. It's largely investigative mutual aid that we've brought in. 'Until some of those elements have been established of exactly what we're dealing with there, it will be made public at that time. 'I know there's been some information in the media. We've got a huge forensic tent down there.' Mr Coleman was reported missing on June 1. James Desborough, 39, of Lower Sticker, has been charged with his murder. Desborough has since appeared before Bodmin Magistrates' Court and was remanded in custody. He is due to appear before Truro Crown Court on August 8. When asked 10 days ago about 'multiple bodies' in the search area, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were working to recover Mr Coleman's body and that forensic investigations of the site related to him. The third murder inquiry follows a fatal fire at a residential property in Newquay on July 22. The body of a man in his 30s was found in the property and a 33-year-old man from Bolton was arrested on suspicion of murder.
