'Agitated husband murdered wife'

Tina Baker had fallen in love with a childhood friend, the court heard

A man accused of murdering his estranged wife was in an "agitated state" on the day she was last seen alive, the Old Bailey has been told.

No trace has been found of Tina Baker since 8 July 2002, when she set off to feed the animals at the Surrey farm she shared with her husband Martin.

The court heard "very powerful" circumstantial evidence pointed to Mr Baker having killed her.

Mr Baker, who denies murder, also disposed of her body, the court heard.

Mark Dennis, prosecuting, said Mr Baker, 54, "wanted to be in control" and was under strain because of the breakdown of his second marriage.

We submit that the defendant put into effect a threat he had carried with him Prosecutor Mark Dennis

His 41-year-old wife had fallen in love with a childhood friend she had met again and wanted a divorce.

She had moved out of their home in Egham, Surrey and was staying with her parents in Shepperton.

"This would put a great strain on anyone but particularly someone of this defendant's character and personality," Mr Dennis said.

"He was known to be a possessive person, someone always wanting to be in control, concerned about money and finance."

'Ushered away'

Mr Dennis said on the day she disappeared, Mrs Baker set off from her new lover's house for the farm in Pennypot Lane, Chobham.

Later that day Fiona Cooper, a woman who tended a horse in a field near the farm, was ushered away by an agitated Mr Baker.

"She was left feeling that he couldn't wait to get rid of her," Mr Dennis said.

The court heard Mr Baker had told police he was at work at an engineering firm eight or nine miles away that day, but mobile phone records placed him at the farm.

The prosecution claims Mr Baker got rid of his wife's car, and telephone records also showed he contacted a friend with a breaker's yard on the same day.

Mr Dennis told the jury that years beforehand Mr Baker had threatened to kill his first wife, saying he "had the power to make (her) disappear permanently".

"We submit that in July 2002 the defendant, in respect of his second wife, put into effect a threat he had carried with him," he said.

The case continues.