Soldier goes on trial accused of murdering ex-girlfriend Alice Ruggles
The trial of a soldier accused of the murder of his ex-girlfriend has got underway at Newcastle Crown Court.
Alice Ruggles, 24, was found dead at her flat in Gateshead last October.
Lance Corporal Trimaan Dhillon, 26 and also known as Harry Dhillon, is from the Royal Regiment of Scotland. He denies murder.
The prosecution began their case, telling the jury that Alice bled to death on her bathroom floor with "horrendous injuries." Barrister Richard Wright QC said: "someone had split her throat open from ear to ear."
The court heard that Alice's flatmate Maxine Mcgill had found her body when returning home to Rawling Road, in Bensham, at around 6.30pm on 12th October 2016.
The jury were played her distressed 999 call.
She said:
Members of Alice's family and friends sobbed in court as they heard the call.
Ms Mcgill told the call handler that Alice had been having problems with her former boyfriend "Harry Dhillon", and that she had previously made a complaint to the police about him.
Prosecution barrister Richard Wright QC said:
The court heard that Lance Corporal Dhillon worked in signalling for 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, and had served in Afghanistan, but not in a combat role. He was interested in joining the special forces, and had passed some of the selection tests. He lived at Glencorse Barracks in Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland. He is wearing a shirt and tie in court.
Alice Ruggles had studied at Northumbria University and was working for Sky in Newcastle.
The jury were told that they started a relationship in October 2015, having been introduced by mutual friends on social media.
The prosecution said Trimaan Dhillon had been "obsessive, controlling and manipulative" when Alice was his girlfriend, and lost trust in him after another girl contacted her to say he had been messaging her.
Mr Wright QC said, from the summer of 2016, Alice "began to gently try to get out of the relationship, but she met with fierce resistance from the defendant. He had become utterly obsessed with her. That obsession led him to kill her."
The jury was told that Trimaan Dhillon messaged members of Alice's friends and family, begging for help in reconciling them, but also threatened Alice with releasing sexually compromising photographs of her.
The prosecution said he "hacked into her social media accounts", and contacted a man she may have been starting a relationship with.
Alice Ruggles contacted the police, but said she did not want him arrested.
The prosecution say that, five days later, he broke into her flat and killed her.
The trial continues at Newcastle Crown Court.