'Sex-obsessed' man accused of strangling wife
A "sex-obsessed" husband strangled his wife after she refused to sleep with him for two years and then staged a car crash in a bid to cover up the killing, a court heard on Wednesday.
Nurse Brent Mott, 32, claimed his wife, Kate, had "lost interest" in sex following the birth of their second child by emergency Caesarean and complained that her refusal had "made his life a misery", it was alleged.
He "constantly pestered" and groped the 35-year-old, who worked as a nurse at the same hospital, even buying her sex manuals with titles like Over 1 000 Truly Astonishing Sex Tips, the court was told.Eventually his obsession caused their marriage to collapse, and while the divorce was being prepared she set up a bedroom in the lounge and took out a court injunction barring him from entering, the jury heard.
But after another row erupted, Mott allegedly strangled her with her pyjama top while their children slept upstairs before stuffing her body into the family car and staging a crash at a local beauty spot.
Police believe he had sex with her either shortly before or after killing her, the jury was told.
Mott - who stood to inherit the marital home in Southport, Merseyside, mortgage-free - then staged "a comprehensive cover-up", sending text messages to his wife's phone asking where she was, it was alleged.
He denied killing his wife until weeks before on Wednesday's trial when he admitted being "instrumental" in her death, Liverpool Crown Court was told.
Mott claimed at first that his wife had lunged at him with a knife and that he had grappled with her when she fell, with her head hitting the hearth.
He later amended the version to say he had lost self-control and strangled her before making it look as if she had died in a road traffic accident, the jury was told.
But he continues to deny murder, claiming her death was an accident when he was acting in self-defence under provocation.
"He proved himself time and time again, before and after he killed his wife, to be obsessed by her refusal to have sex with him and his frustration about that," prosecutor Nigel Power QC said.
The couple had seen marriage counsellors where Mott showed himself "obsessed with sex" and his wife "angry and frustrated about his obsessions and jealousy", Mr Power said.
After the birth of their daughter Olivia in March 2006, Mott "constantly pestered" his wife for sex, groping her and putting his hand down her top, he said.
When she came home on Christmas Day 2008 following the birth of their son Lewis by emergency Caesarean, he gave her presents of sex books, a sex game and underwear, the court was told.
In March the following year he allegedly told a work colleague at Southport and Ormskirk General Hospital where they both worked that she would not have sex with him any more.
He told another that she never wanted sex and that when he tried, she was cold and pushed him away.
Meanwhile Mrs Mott - who used a hearing aid - wrote a letter for her solicitor in which she claimed that he had said that if could not have her, then nobody could, the court heard.
He would call her frigid and she could not bear to touch him, she said.
The jury was told that Mott throttled his wife with her pyjama top during a row in January this year while their children slept upstairs.
"Once he had killed her, he changed her clothes, put her into the family car and drove her to a track on some farmland just north of Southport where he attempted to make it appear that she had died in a road traffic accident," said Mr Power.
"The next morning he acted as if she was still alive, phoning her mother and then the police apparently worried about her whereabouts.
"He also sent two text messages to Kate asking where she was and where the car keys were."
Mr Power said paramedics and police called to inspect the scene where Kate was found in the family Ford Focus were immediately suspicious that it was not an accident.
The court heard that a day before she died she had told her mother that Mott had filmed her naked coming out of the shower on his mobile phone. He had said that he would be the last person to see her naked.
A post mortem proved that they had sex shortly before or after her death - something which given "the status of their relationship meant that it is impossible to contemplate that she agreed," Mr Power said.
The jury was told that Mott also had a Facebook account and shortly after the killing, he wrote on his wall: 'Brent Mott Am Use to It.
"Would just be nice for a compromise and do a fair share. I do it every night. She says she doesn't do nights well. Love it though, love my kids loads."
In interviews with police Mott said he was "no more interested in sex than any other bloke but when it doesn't happen for six or nine months, then it's not normal behaviour".
Mott denies murder. The trial continues
A "sex-obsessed" husband strangled his wife after she refused to sleep with him for two years and then staged a car crash in a bid to cover up the killing, a court heard on Wednesday.
Nurse Brent Mott, 32, claimed his wife, Kate, had "lost interest" in sex following the birth of their second child by emergency Caesarean and complained that her refusal had "made his life a misery", it was alleged.
He "constantly pestered" and groped the 35-year-old, who worked as a nurse at the same hospital, even buying her sex manuals with titles like Over 1 000 Truly Astonishing Sex Tips, the court was told.Eventually his obsession caused their marriage to collapse, and while the divorce was being prepared she set up a bedroom in the lounge and took out a court injunction barring him from entering, the jury heard.
But after another row erupted, Mott allegedly strangled her with her pyjama top while their children slept upstairs before stuffing her body into the family car and staging a crash at a local beauty spot.
Police believe he had sex with her either shortly before or after killing her, the jury was told.
Mott - who stood to inherit the marital home in Southport, Merseyside, mortgage-free - then staged "a comprehensive cover-up", sending text messages to his wife's phone asking where she was, it was alleged.
He denied killing his wife until weeks before on Wednesday's trial when he admitted being "instrumental" in her death, Liverpool Crown Court was told.
Mott claimed at first that his wife had lunged at him with a knife and that he had grappled with her when she fell, with her head hitting the hearth.
He later amended the version to say he had lost self-control and strangled her before making it look as if she had died in a road traffic accident, the jury was told.
But he continues to deny murder, claiming her death was an accident when he was acting in self-defence under provocation.
"He proved himself time and time again, before and after he killed his wife, to be obsessed by her refusal to have sex with him and his frustration about that," prosecutor Nigel Power QC said.
The couple had seen marriage counsellors where Mott showed himself "obsessed with sex" and his wife "angry and frustrated about his obsessions and jealousy", Mr Power said.
After the birth of their daughter Olivia in March 2006, Mott "constantly pestered" his wife for sex, groping her and putting his hand down her top, he said.
When she came home on Christmas Day 2008 following the birth of their son Lewis by emergency Caesarean, he gave her presents of sex books, a sex game and underwear, the court was told.
In March the following year he allegedly told a work colleague at Southport and Ormskirk General Hospital where they both worked that she would not have sex with him any more.
He told another that she never wanted sex and that when he tried, she was cold and pushed him away.
Meanwhile Mrs Mott - who used a hearing aid - wrote a letter for her solicitor in which she claimed that he had said that if could not have her, then nobody could, the court heard.
He would call her frigid and she could not bear to touch him, she said.
The jury was told that Mott throttled his wife with her pyjama top during a row in January this year while their children slept upstairs.
"Once he had killed her, he changed her clothes, put her into the family car and drove her to a track on some farmland just north of Southport where he attempted to make it appear that she had died in a road traffic accident," said Mr Power.
"The next morning he acted as if she was still alive, phoning her mother and then the police apparently worried about her whereabouts.
"He also sent two text messages to Kate asking where she was and where the car keys were."
Mr Power said paramedics and police called to inspect the scene where Kate was found in the family Ford Focus were immediately suspicious that it was not an accident.
The court heard that a day before she died she had told her mother that Mott had filmed her naked coming out of the shower on his mobile phone. He had said that he would be the last person to see her naked.
A post mortem proved that they had sex shortly before or after her death - something which given "the status of their relationship meant that it is impossible to contemplate that she agreed," Mr Power said.
The jury was told that Mott also had a Facebook account and shortly after the killing, he wrote on his wall: 'Brent Mott Am Use to It.
"Would just be nice for a compromise and do a fair share. I do it every night. She says she doesn't do nights well. Love it though, love my kids loads."
In interviews with police Mott said he was "no more interested in sex than any other bloke but when it doesn't happen for six or nine months, then it's not normal behaviour".
Mott denies murder. The trial continues