Ex-girlfriend of man accused of killing Megan Newborough discusses 'loving but erratic' relationship
The former girlfriend of a lab assistant who is accused of strangling a colleague to death has been talking about their relationship at his murder trial at Leicester Crown Court.
Ross McCullum, 30, from Coalville in Leicestershire, is on trial charged with the murder of Megan Newborough, who was 23 and from Nuneaton.
Her body was found in undergrowth near the village of Woodhouse Eaves.
McCullum admits the manslaughter of Ms Newborough by strangling her at his home in Windsor Close on Friday 6 August last year.
Today, McCullum's former girlfriend, Chloe Pike, said her relationship with him back in 2011 was loving, but he could be erratic.
She told the court how he had carried her naked out into the street on a snowy night against her will.
On another occasion, he punched her in the arm out of the blue and felt compelled to do it twice more.
Earlier, McCullum’s parents were questioned about his claims he’d been abused by others as a child.
McCullum also claims an episode of post-traumatic stress disorder linked to his abuse as a child triggered the out of "control" attack on Ms Newborough after a sexual encounter between the pair.
He has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies the murder of his colleague.
Ms Newborough and McCullum worked together at Ibstock Brick in North West Leicestershire.
The pair had struck up a relationship after Ms Newborough carried out a data protection audit of the lab where McCullum worked as an assistant, last summer.
Leicester Crown Court heard the pair exchanged more than 3,500 text messages, many of which were extremely sexually graphic and included violent and misogynistic content on McCullum's part.
Prosecutors claim McCullum has a disturbing interest in "domination" sex and porn.
It is believed Ms Newborough had driven from her home in Nuneaton to McCullum's anticipating some kind of sexual liaison on Friday 6 August.
However, within 40 minutes of her arrival, prosecutors say she was dead.
Prosecuting teams said McCullum attacked Ms Newborough in the living room of the home he shared with his parents before cutting her throat with a carving knife to "make sure she was dead".
In a bid to cover his tracks, the trial heard how McCullum went on to bundle Ms Newborough into her own Citroen C3 and drove, without a driving licence, to a remote rural location near the village of Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire to bump Ms Newborough's partially-clothed body.
The court also heard, he had discarded her phone in Hermitage Road, Whitwick and left her car in the car park of Loughborough College, where CCTV footage was shown of the defendant disposing of Megan's boots and glasses, as well as bloody sheets and other incriminating evidence in nearby bins.
Ms Newborough was reported missing by her family on Saturday 7 August 2021, after she failed to return home.
Her body was found in the early hours of the following day.
McCullum pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies the murder of his colleague.
The trial continues.