Accused Denies He Was Jealous Of Murdered Wife's Musical Talents
A double bass player accused of murdering his pianist wife has told a jury it was ``absolutely ridiculous'' to suggest he was jealous of her musical talents.
A double bass player accused of murdering his pianist wife has told a jury it was absolutely ridiculous'' to suggest he was jealous of her musical talents. It is alleged thatcontrolling'' John Martin, 48, strangled and beat to death Russian-born Natalia Strelchenko, 38, in a loss of temper at their home in Newton Heath, Manchester, on August 30 last year. The Crown say the Norwegian national was envious when she was apart from him which was made worse when her career took off while his did not. Giving evidence at Manchester Crown Court in his defence, Martin said that was not true and he fell in love with her music as much as he did with the woman. Stuart Denney QC, defending, asked Martin: A suggestion was made at the beginning of this case that possibly you were jealous of Natalia's success, is there any truth in that?'' The defendant replied:That is absolutely ridiculous. I was never jealous of her career. That is false, totally. I supported her career all the way. Her career as a musician, I was actually maybe as much in love with that as Natalia herself. She was absolutely fantastic as a musician. I have no other words.'' Ms Strelchenko, also known by the surname Strelle, was found with severe head and neck injuries at their home on the couple's second wedding anniversary and died in hospital a short time later. She had played the piano from the age of eight and went on to gain entry to the prestigious St Petersburg State Conservatory in her homeland, the jury has been told, and at thepeak of her powers'' performed in concerts with a full orchestra. She moved to Manchester in 2009 following the breakdown of her first marriage three years earlier, before she began a relationship with the defendant in late 2010. Martin, who trained at the Oslo Conservatoire, said he first met Ms Strelchenko in 2007 when they played together in an orchestra. They became good friends'', he said, before the relationship developed years later when Martin was still married to his second wife and Ms Strelchenko was a divorcee. The computer science and maths graduate said he worked for computer giant IBM for nine years in his home country before he decided to become a freelance musician and later moved to Manchester, where he performed in various local ensembles. Asked whether there were domestic problems at their home in Newton Heath, he said:At the beginning we had this agreement that we should try to keep the house a bit tidy at least. I am not the tidiest person myself but unfortunately it developed very bad and I ended up feeling like I was a servant ... simple things like leaving clothes on the floor.Trying not to have 100 pairs of shoes in the front entrance. Every time I went out with my double bass I was falling over.'' Martin said he and Ms Strelchenko were both very happy'' when they learned she was pregnant but he said he later became depressed when she complained about him spending time with his two children in Norway from his second marriage. The victim's sister, Julia Strelchenko, had told the jury that Martin did not want to have another child and initially left her but Martin said it was his wife's choice to have an abortion. The defendant says he has no memory of the events of August 30. A consultant psychiatrist for the defence told the jury that, in his opinion, Martin was suffering at the time froma severe depressive episode'' as part of a recognised mental disorder. Martin denies the murder, or the manslaughter, of his wife. He has also pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of a male youth who cannot be identified for legal reasons.