Ex-soldier accused of slitting ex-girlfriend's stepmum's throat after split

A FORMER soldier cut his ex-girlfriend's stepmum's throat in a Bristol street, a murder trial jury has heard.

Barach Bandavad is accused of killing 58-year-old Judith Ege, below, the stepmother of his ex-girlfriend, as she collected possessions from his Horfield home following the split.

Bristol Crown Court heard Bandavad, 38, slashed Mrs Ege's throat and stabbed her in the chest and neck as she tried to fight him off.

She had arrived at the house in Highbury Road on June 30 last year with her husband Augustine to collect the possessions of Mr Ege's daughter Samantha Hines, after Ms Hines broke up with Bandavad.

After helping them to load a hired Vauxhall Corsa car, he asked them to drive him somewhere before revealing a gun and two knives and saying: "There's a need for us all to die".

The court heard Mr Ege grabbed the car keys and fled the scene, while Bandavad attacked his wife as she sat in the back of the car.

Bandavad, who worked for the Ministry of Defence at Abbey Wood, denies murder.

Mr Ege told the jury he had driven from Wantage in Oxfordshire with his wife and his daughter, whom he had dropped off at shops in Horfield before going on to Bandavad's home with his wife.

A polite but "cool" Bandavad helped load the Corsa with Ms Hines' possessions, before he unexpectedly changed his mood.

Mr Ege told the jury that, after loading the car, he told Bandavad he and his wife were leaving.

Mr Ege told the court: "He said 'firstly, the three of us are going to go for a drive'.

"His manner was reasonably calm. My reply was that this was not what we agreed. I said we would come, collect the stuff and go.

"He said 'No, we are going for a drive to a place where I went to when I first came to this country'."

It was then, said Mr Ege, that Bandavad pulled up his jumper, revealed the handle of a gun tucked in the waistband of his trousers and said: "You don't understand. We are going for a drive."

Mr Ege said his wife was not happy with what was going on, saying a drive had not been agreed.

He said Bandavad then demanded his mobile phone and he showed off the gun again.

Mr Ege then noticed Bandavad had two knives in his left hand, and said Bandavad told him: "You're making me very nervous now. I'm not afraid to use this."

The jury heard a very scared Mr Ege furtively grabbed he car keys from the ignition as Bandavad said: "There is a need for us to die."

Mr Ege told the court: "I thought that it was me that he was after and that he would come running after me.

"I was clearly confident that I could outrun him. I wanted to try and draw him away from my wife.

"My wife was at the rear passenger side of the car, outside the car.

"I ran in the opposite direction to which the car was facing.

"After ten or 15 seconds I heard a fairly loud scream. It was definitely female. It was definitely my wife."

The prosecution claims Bandavad unleashed the knife attack on Mrs Ege as she tried to fend him off from the back seat of the car.

It is claimed that he held a match to the car's fuel cap, without effect, before leaving the scene and taking a mobile phone from a nearby man who was making a 999 call, and disconnecting it.

The man swabbed blood left on his hand, which was later found to be Mrs Ege's.

Another witness described how he saw a black man dump a rucksack into a bin, which was recovered and found to be stained with Mrs Ege's blood.

It contained cable ties, false moustaches, latex gloves, matches and a bottle of barbecue lighter fuel with Bandavad's finger marks on, the court heard.

In the early hours of the following day Bandavad phoned the police saying he wanted to turn himself in.

He told police Mrs Ege had accidentally come into contact with a knife during a struggle.

The case continues.