THE wife of a security guard accused of murdering a conference delegate told police he was manipulative and violent, a jury has heard.
Paula Carter, 33, was giving evidence at the trial of Clive Carter, 35, who denies murdering Khanokporn Satjawat at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow, on November 13 last year.
He has admitted killing Miss Satjawat, from Thailand, who was a delegate at a medical conference at the venue, by attacking her with a fire extinguisher but claims he has no memory of the attack.
In evidence at the High Court in Glasgow, Mrs Carter denied that her husband was manipulative.
She was asked by advocate depute John Scullion, prosecuting: "Is your husband manipulative, does he manipulate you?" She replied: "No."
Mr Scullion said that she had told police in a statement that he was manipulative.
Referring to the statement, he asked her: "Does it say: 'If Clive doesn't get his own way he's like my eight-year-old. He stamps his feet, breaks stuff. He's manipulative.' Did you say that to the police?" Mrs Carter replied: "I don't know."
The prosecutor said: "You are choosing not to remember." She told him: "Please don't put words into my mouth."
Mr Scullion then asked if her husband had ever strangled her and she said he had done so once.
He showed her a police statement taken on January 13, in which she stated: "I didn't have any marks or bruises. He just strangled me to the point of going red and then he let me go."
He asked: "Did you say that to the police?" Mrs Carter replied: "I don't know, I don't know what the context is. I don't remember the conversation. I can't remember saying that."
She did admit to the jury that Carter often had episodes of explosive rage where he would throw things at her. These items included a coffee table and a laptop. She told the jury: "He threw whatever was to hand."
She also revealed that on one occasion when he could not find a tin opener he wrecked the kitchen.
Mrs Carter said: "The only thing left standing was my microwave."
Mr Scullion said: "You are trying to protect your husband." She said: "I'm not, I don't excuse what my husband has done at all."
She also told the prosecutor: "You are trying to portray me as a battered wife. I'm not, I give as good as I get."
She told defence QC Ian Duguid that after the violent explosive incidents Carter couldn't remember what he had done.
The QC asked: "Is he able to control himself when he's in one of his explosive rages?" She said: "No."
Mrs Carter told the court that she was fired from her job and her family is suffering as a consequence of what happened.
Mr Duguid said: "There have been considerable consequences for you, but you realise someone has died."
Mrs Carter replied: "I'm sorry, but at the end of the day my main concern is my three children."
Psychiatrist Dr John Crichton, who interviewed Carter at Addiewell Prison, later told the jury that he believed Carter had an emotionally unstable personality of the impulse type.
He also said there was not enough evidence to suggest the killing of Miss Satjawat was sexually motivated.
Under cross-examination by prosecutor John Scullion, Dr Crichton was asked: "This could have been an impulsive act caused by a personality disorder or it could point towards an act of violence that had nothing to do with a personality disorder." He replied: "That's correct."
The trial before Lord Matthews continues.
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