Heiress 'strangled by jealous ex'

Ms Healey's body was found naked in her bedroom at home

A jobless man was prompted by jealousy when he killed his heiress girlfriend after their nine-month relationship ended, a court has been told.

Richard George Holtby strangled Suzy Healey, 39, at her home at Ellerker Hall, East Yorkshire, on 21 August last year, Hull Crown Court heard.

Ms Healey, the daughter of Hygena Kitchens millionaire Malcolm Healey, was found dead at home the next day.

Mr Holtby, 38, denies murder but has admitted manslaughter.

A post-mortem examination on Ms Healey's body confirmed she died as a result of strangulation and there was extensive bruising of the neck.

James Goss, prosecuting, said Mr Holtby strangled her to death in her bed, before driving in an intoxicated state to a friend's home where he spent the night.

Friends of Ms Healey who were unable to contact her the next day alerted police who found her body on a bed. Her head was covered with a pillow.

Ellerker Hall stands in the centre of the village

The next day Mr Holtby disposed of his jeans in a nearby field and drove to Whitby, North Yorkshire, where he was arrested later that morning.

Mr Goss told the jury: "There is no doubt the defendant strangled Suzy Healey to death in her bed on the night of 21 August last.

"There must have been sustained pressure to her neck, clear evidence of an intention at least to cause her really serious harm, if not to kill her.

"So he had, we say, the necessary murderous intent."

The court heard Ms Healey had the "good fortune" to be a member of an extremely wealthy family and lived on her own in the house in the centre of Ellerker village.

She divorced in the mid 1990s and had two daughters, Jasmine and Angelica, who are now in their teens.

Despite her wealth she "experienced unhappiness, suffered from episodes of depression and was a heavy drinker".

She started a relationship with Holtby, also a heavy drinker, in December 2004.

"Their short relationship was marred by regular arguments and fallings out," Mr Goss said.

Three months later he left Ellerker Hall, but their on-off relationship continued.

Mr Holtby, known to his friends as George, has never given an address in court but the jury heard he was staying with his parents in South Cave, near Hull, before the incident.

The trial, which had to be re-started on Monday after the original jury was discharged, was adjourned until Tuesday.