Husband ‘killed new bride three days after their wedding & stuffed dead body in a suitcase after she asked for divorce’
A HUSBAND stuffed the lifeless body of his new bride into a suitcase after she asked for divorce, a court has heard.
Scrap man Thomas Nutt, 45, is accused of murdering Dawn Walker, 52, after her body was found just four days into their marriage.
Her body was found stuffed into a suitcase after being dumped into some undergrowth in a field towards the back of the defendant’s house.
Nutt called police on October 31 last year to tell them that his wife had gone missing, prosecutor Alistair MacDonald QC told Bradford Crown Court.
Mr MacDonald said: “[Nutt] told them that his new wife had left their house at about 09.30 am, to go and visit her daughter Keira at Wilkinson’s shop, in Brighouse, which was nearby, but she had never, in fact, turned up.”
Nutt told cops he’d been driving around Brighouse, West Yorkshire, with his step daughter, Keira-Lee, and her one-year-old, searching for the mum.
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But in reality, Mr MacDonald alleged Nutt had murdered her days earlier in his home in nearby Halifax, by hitting her in the head and strangling her.
Mr MacDonald claimed Nutt then shoved Dawn’s body into a suitcase and went on a two-day trip to Skegness, before disposing of the bag in a field at the back of his house.”
The prosecution alleged that he intended to cause “really serious harm” and told jurors Nutt “is guilty of murder”.
Mr MacDonald told the court it was true that Nutt had spent the morning going to shops in the local area and had acted like a “distraught new husband”.
But in actuality, he said Nutt had already murdered Dawn by this point.
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Mr Macdonald went on to say police received a tip-off from a local solicitor that Nutt had confessed to killing Dawn and was handing himself in.
And after arriving at the police station at 5.13 pm, in an interview with cops he said that he had killed his wife when they returned from a two-day honeymoon to Skegness, Lincs.
He told officers that shortly into their marriage Dawn had become “depressed” and asked him for a divorce.
During the interrogation, Nutt claimed: “She started screaming, and I have hit her in the face and put my arm round her neck.”
Nutt denies the charges of murder however admits to manslaughter.
Mr Macdonald told the jury the prosecution did not accept this plea or what he had told police.
In fact, Mr Macdonald told the court Nutt had killed his wife before he left for a two-day vacation, and had intended to kill her, and was therefore guilty of murder.
He said: “It is our case, though not crucial to proving the allegation of murder, that she never went to Skegness but he did. He killed her before he left to go there.”
Mr Macdonald claimed Nutt carried out a “ghastly charade” by approaching shops around Brighouse in a search for her.
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The prosecutor said this was “to make it look as though he was conducting a genuine search for her”.
The trial continues.
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.