Thu, 10 May 2012 8:25a.m.
A wealthy jeweller's son accused of murdering his girlfriend in a jealous rage has told a jury he never strangled her and only defended himself after she repeatedly attacked him.
Elliot Turner said that an argument in his bedroom turned violent and he was forced to grab aspiring Kiwi model Emily Longley by the throat to stop her assaults.
He denies murder and perverting the course of justice.
Giving evidence for the second day at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday, Turner, 20, admitted he had threatened 17-year-old Emily and that he felt "upset and deceived" on the night before she died on May 7 last year when he saw untrue emails on her phone saying he had smashed her face into a table.
He told the jury that he was angry about lies others had told about him but admitted that telling his friends he had killed Emily with a mallet two days before she died, and threatening to kill her, was "childish behaviour" and would "look really evil". But it was "just bollocks, it's me pretending to be a gangster".
He denied he had used his arm to strangle her in a "sleeper hold" or that he put a pillow over her face.
Turner said he and Emily had argued that night and she had thrown drinks over him but initially in his bedroom they had been "loved up".
He said he went outside for a cigarette but Emily did not like him smoking and said his breath smelt like an ashtray. This had started another argument and she had tried to lock him out.
He said Emily "just went crazy", kicking and punching him after he told her to get out of the house and threw money at her for a taxi.
After urging her to calm down, Turner said he grabbed her by the neck and pressed down while she was lying on the bed.
Under questioning by his defence counsel Anthony Donne QC, Turner denied trying to hurt or kill Emily.
He said he later went to bed next to his girlfriend, thinking she was asleep, and it wasn't until the next day when he tried to rouse her that he discovered she was cold.
Mr Donne asked: "Did you think in any way you had been the cause of her death?"
Turner replied. "I didn't think I was the cause of her death, but I was thinking I'm her boyfriend and we had an argument the night before - this looks really odd."
He admitted however sending a text to a friend on May 6, reading: "I am going to kick this bitch in the head ... hello darling have you met Mrs Mallet?"
Emily was born in Britain but her family emigrated to Auckland, when she was nine.
She had returned to live with her grandparents in Bournemouth, to study, when she died.
NZN / 3 News