A JURY has retired to consider its verdicts in the trial of a 50-year-old man accused of murdering his former partner at her Netherton home.

Rickardo Wilson denies charges of murder and manslaughter involving mother-of-eight Claire Harris, who was strangled at her Cinder Bank flat in January.

The jury at Stafford Crown Court has heard that Ms Harris suffered 86 injuries - half of them to her head and face.

Giving evidence last week Wilson told the court he ‘never intended to hurt’ his partner but she was killed as he ‘restrained her’.

Ms Harris had moved out of the flat but was invited to the property for dinner and drinks.

Wilson claimed Ms Harris could be aggressive when she had a drink and their relationship had been volatile.

On that night he said they had been having a laugh and joke with one another, but there was a problem with a neighbour over the volume of music.

He said: “The atmosphere was brilliant – we were having a laugh and a joke. I asked if she wanted a drink, she said yes so I went to the shop. I brought her four Carling and brought myself four cans of beer.

“We were talking, just sitting down, everything was normal. Claire wanted to put some music on.

"The music was on, we were having a dance about, having a laugh – all of a sudden there was a knock at the door.

“She answered the door, I heard her shouting, raised voices and swearing at whoever was at the door. She was swearing and she was loud."

Wilson told the jury Ms Harris followed the neighbour as he walked away and he had struggled with her to get her back into the flat.

He said he turned the music down but she kept turning the volume up and claimed she had punched him on the left side of the face and grabbed him by the ears.

Wilson said he pushed her off and she backed away and she had gone towards the knife block, got a knife and came walking back towards him.

He told the court he grabbed the sleeve of the hand holding the knife and had another hand around her neck to ‘secure her’.

Wilson added he then lost his balance and realised he was going to fall. After they fell down together, he moved himself to one side and told the court he could see her face and her eyes were closed, so he let go of her.

He said: “I thought 'oh God she’s fainted'.

“I did not have any reason to think she was hurt, it never occurred to me, it was that brief it never entered my head.

“I waited about 10 minutes. I lifted up her top and expected to see her belly moving. I didn’t see it moving. I couldn’t feel her breathing and I went into panic. My whole life collapsed at that second.

“I was screaming and crying. I just sat with her – stroking her face, saying I was sorry, I was sat talking to her.

"I never intended to hurt her, it never occurred to me, never. For what reason would I have to kill her, what for?

“I had my arm around her as I was trying to get the knife off her, I made sure she was secure - my only aim was to get the knife, there was no other aim,” he said

Under cross examination, Wilson denied losing his temper and said he was only restraining the victim.

He said he did not know how the other injuries happened.

"I have no idea whatsoever. I never strangled her to death in anger. She’s dead because I restrained her," he said.

The trial continues.