Murder accused 'growled like animal'

Natalie Sexton's body was found in a village pond

A north Wales man accused of drowning his girlfriend in a village pond had "growled like a lion" during a row before the murder, a court has been told.

A jury at Mold Crown Court heard residents recalled hearing "animal noises" and hysterical screams from a man and woman near the scene of the murder at Gronant Road, Prestatyn.

Christopher Vosper QC, prosecuting, said it was believed the man and woman were Paul Davies, 40, from Manchester, and his girlfriend Natalie Sexton, 31.

Police officers sealed off the scene

Mr Davies denied murdering Ms Sexton on 8 November last year.

Mr Vosper told the court that eyewitness accounts led to the conclusion that Mr Davies and Ms Sexton were present before 2300BST on Gronant Road at the junction of Nant Drive near the duck pond.

But by 2345GMT, the prosecution claims the defendant was alone in Abbey Drive, where he was staying with his half sister Margaret Shields.

By that time, the court was told, Ms Sexton was dead in the duck pond.

On Tuesday, the trial was told by witness Ben Goodier that he had heard a "loud growling noise, like a lion", coming from a bench in the Nant Hall Road area, on the night of the murder.

It was not a scream of delight

Eirlys Jones, witness

Mr Goodier said he was apprehensive and he walked away from the area, at which time he heard a woman shouting "you are hurting me".

John Elwyn Jones was driving along Gronant Road when he saw a man walking ahead of a woman, who was hysterical and very distraught.

Mr Jones's wife, Eirlys, said she recalled hearing a woman screaming loudly from the area of the duck pond.

The court heard evidence of a noisy argument

"It was not a scream of delight," said Mrs Jones.

Another witness John Millard said he was driving towards Prestatyn when he saw a woman lying in the road with her feet on the grass verge. She got up and he could see that she had a bottle or a can in her hand.

'Frightening' Mr Millard spotted a man sitting on a bench nearby, and he also had a can or a bottle.

Resident John Corbett told the jury he recalled hearing a growling noise outside his house.

"It was as if someone was trying to imitate an aggressive animal," he said. "It was as if the person was trying to frighten somebody."

A 15-year-old schoolgirl, who cannot be named, gave a statement saying she had heard a woman shouting and sounding frightened from the direction of the duck pond.

The trial continues.