Dead wife 'planned to disappear'

David Chenery-Wickens was away from court for three days after a fall

A spiritualist minister accused of murdering his wife has told jurors they had a secret plan she would disappear and start a new life in Spain.

David Chenery-Wickens, 52, of Duddleswell, Sussex, denies murdering the 48-year-old woman and dumping her body in woodland in January last year.

He told Lewes Crown Court he swore an oath of secrecy to prevent anyone discovering his wife's plan to vanish.

He said his make-up artist wife "wanted to go missing for a period of time".

Mr Chenery-Wickens was in court following a three-day absence after falling and banging his head in the dock on Monday.

'Financial concerns'

Under cross-examination, he said she had planned to go missing and then "make contact with her family and me to say that she's safe and well".

"I thought she was going abroad because she spoke of Spain."

He said they discussed her plan on 22 January - the day he is alleged to have murdered her - and she vanished two days later.

But he said it was never her intention to permanently disappear and said: "She never spoke about that and she wouldn't have done that."

When asked about his affair with a woman called Kerry Lippett, Mr Chenery-Wickens said his wife was fully aware of the relationship.

He told prosecutor Philip Katz QC, "She didn't like the idea because she realised that it blossomed into a true and proper relationship.

"What was bothering her was the financial situation and the fact that she was having difficulty finding work."

'Coast clear'

Mr Chenery-Wickens said on the morning of his wife's disappearance on 24 January, he spent half an hour speaking on a gay chatline on their landline.

He said he had "time to spare" because his wife was upstairs getting ready, and denied being "turned on".

When Mr Katz asked why he would call a gay chatline for such a long time while his wife was upstairs, Mr Chenery-Wickens replied: "It's all about human behaviour and what people get up to."

Mr Katz said: "I'm going to suggest that the coast was clear, that Diane was dead and you were getting out of control, that you were free to do all this because Diane was out of the way."

Mr Chenery-Wickens replied: "You are very rude."

The case continues.