Middlesbrough Pharmacist hoped to cash in a £2 million insurance policy after murdering wife, court told

A pharmacist accused of murdering his wife hoped to cash in a £2 million life insurance policy and set up a new life in Australia with the man he really loved, jurors were told.

Mitesh Patel, 37, owned and ran a chemists with his wife Jessica, 34, who was strangled at their home in The Avenue, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, on May 14.

He denies her murder and is on trial at Teesside Crown Court.

Nicholas Campbell QC, prosecuting, said the husband staged a burglary at their home and strangled her with the intention that intruders would be blamed.

He said: "The prosecution case is that this is a lie.

"You will hear that it was Mr Mitesh Patel, the defendant, who murdered Jessica Patel.

"You will hear that he planned to kill her for some time.

"He has sought information about how to do it including searching online about strangulation, and how long did it take using that method for the victim to die.''

The couple were alone in the house together when she was murdered, the prosecution said.

He had previously left the house to create a false alibi, Mr Campbell said, and tried to stage-manage the murder scene.

The prosecution said they did not have to prove evidence of a motive, but there was "ample'', Mr Campbell said, as there were various life insurance policies in his wife's name worth £2 million if she died.

Mr Campbell said: "He was planning to use the money to start a new life in Australia and that life would be shared with the person who he really loved, one who he regarded as his soul mate, another man, a doctor by the name Amit Patel.''

Before the prosecution opening, jurors were told the defendant had used the Grindr app to meet men for sex