'Controlling and manipulative' husband strangled wife and went on the run to Scotland, court told

Mark Barrott, 55, is accused of murdering his partner Eileen Barrott at the couple's home on Naburn Fold, Whinmoor, on August 15, 2021, with the trial beginning today.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Craig Hassall told the court Barrott had hit Eileen over the head with a hammer before strangling her until she died.

He then added that Barrott then "went on the run", taking a taxi to Leeds station before taking a number of trains up to the north of Scotland.

Around three and a half hours after leaving his home, Barrott sent a text message to a childhood friend and his therapist, urging them to call an ambulance and the police for Eileen, before claiming he was "going to go away to die now".

After travelling to Edinburgh, he then made his way to Aberdeen and ultimately to Elgin the following day, where he took refuge in an Abbey.

He told Monks his name was John Connolly and gave a fake address in Hull.

Police Scotland officers attended the abbey, to find Barrott hiding in a confessional box. When he was arrested, he told officers he had not eaten in two weeks.

Mr Hassall said: "We accept he has a history of mental health problems, but his decision to kill her was precisely that - a decision of a jealous and controlling husband.

"A decision to kill the wife who had resolutely told him their marriage was over."

While Barrott was being transferred to Leeds, he was heard saying "this is a bad dream", and comments about "demons".

The court heard Barrott had often displayed obsessive compulsive and controlling behaviours to members of his own family. He would regularly follow Eileen when she went on nights out with her friends, and would even track her remotely by putting a device into her handbag. The jury was also told Barrott would turn up to his wife's work events and behave jealously.

Mr Hassall added: "When his behaviour was criticised, he would blame his childhood. He would manipulate his family into feeling sorry for him - he was cruel, controlling and abusive."

Mr Hassall said the defendant accepted he had killed his wife, having pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

But he told the court that Barrott had made a “calculated decision” to kill her on August 15 last year, and therefore should be found guilty of murder.

The trial continues.