LATEST: Soldier on trial accused of murdering ex-girlfriend in Gateshead

Updated 20.04.17

A soldier accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend in Gateshead told a court she stabbed herself in the neck, as she lunged at him with a carving knife at the same moment he tried to disarm her.

Lance Corporal Trimaan Harry'' Dhillon described a lengthy struggle through Alice Ruggles' Gateshead flat in October, that ended with her bleeding to death and himpanicking'' rather than ringing 999.

The 26-year-old, a signaller with the 2 Scots, is on trial at Newcastle Crown Court and denies murdering his ex after he turned up at her home despite her getting an official police warning telling him to stay away.

Dhillon said he climbed into her ground-floor flat through a bedroom window before he saw Miss Ruggles in the living room and that she had grabbed a carving knife.

The Edinburgh-based soldier, who had recently gone through a course in Hereford to join the special forces, said he managed to get her in a headlock and pushed her through the kitchen and into the bathroom.

His intention was to lock her in and run away, he told the court.

Miss Ruggles, who was 24, from Leicestershire and worked for Sky in Newcastle, dropped the knife and fell unconscious on the floor, Dhillon said.

She later regain consciousness, he said, and she asked: Is this really happening?''

He told the jury: My reply was 'I don't know, please don't speak'.''

Later, as they sat in the bathroom, Dhillon claims Miss Ruggles became infuriated'' when he told her he was going to see another woman.

The jury has heard he tried to set up a date as he waited outside Miss Ruggles' flat before she came home that evening.

Dhillon claimed she picked up the knife again but he managed to stop her stabbing him.

He said the knife scratched her neck as he elbowed her to the head.

Miss Ruggles ended up beneath the basin as he sat on the toilet, he said, before she came at him again.

She was moving forwards and I was moving towards her,'' he said.

I moved forward to deflect her arm.''

Dhillon said the knife entered her neck from right to left.

He said: I remember saying 'Alice' and she fell on her right side.''

The India-born soldier said the knife was stuck in her neck, so he tried to pull it out.

I definitely felt the bone connect on the knife,'' he said.

I tried to move it a bit.

It wouldn't just come out straight away, and then I pulled it out.''

Dhillon said he then considered stabbing himself in the chest.

Jamie Hill QC, defending, asked why he did not call 999 on her mobile.

Dhillon said: I don't know, I panicked at the time.

I didn't know how to react to the situation.''

He remembered saying her name and her not replying but he saw her leg twitch.

Asked again why he did not summon the emergency services, Dhillon said: If I am honest, I initially wanted to get out of the situation.

I didn't know how to react to it.

I panicked and I ran away.''

He said he got in his car and took the Coldstream route to Edinburgh as he considered driving off one of these back roads, off the hill''.

The jury has heard he was arrested after he got back to barracks.

The trial continues on Friday morning.

Updated 19.04.17

A soldier accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend before slitting her throat from ear to ear'' received a restraining order for a former lover after he spat in her face on the street.

Lance Corporal Trimaan Harry'' Dhillon is accused of breaking into Alice Ruggles' ground-floor flat and leaving her in the blood-soaked bathroom when he thought she was about to start seeing another man.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Ms Ruggles had previously told Northumbria Police she felt terrified by Dhillon but chose not to have him arrested.

He denies murdering the 24-year-old former Northumbria University student, who was originally from Leicestershire and worked for Sky in Newcastle.

Prosecutor Richard Wright QC told the jury after a previous relationship with Eniko Nemeth had ended, he accosted her in the street in Faversham, Kent.

He confronted her and during the confrontation he demanded to know why she had ended the relationship,'' he said.

She warned him she would call the police but he continued to block her path, he appeared worked up and tense.

She was joined by a male friend and he said 'is this who you are sleeping with? I cannot believe you would leave me for this. Why did you take my girlfriend away?'''

Playing the jury CCTV footage of the incident, Mr Wright said he eventually ran away after spitting in her face.

He was charged with common assault but on the day of the trial the case was discontinued after he accepted a restraining order for a year.

He is accused of travelling from his barracks near Edinburgh on October 10 and waiting for Ms Ruggles to come home.

He broke in through her bedroom window and there was a violent struggle through the flat which an upstairs neighbour heard, Mr Wright said.

The court heard Dhillon drew the blade across her neck six times in the attack. His victim also suffered a wound to the nose and her hand as well as chest injuries as if she had been knelt on, Mr Wright said.

Updated 13.04.17

A soldier accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend by cutting her throat and leaving her to bleed on the bathroom floor is claiming a combination of self-defence and accident'', a court has heard.

But a Home Office pathologist said her findings were inconsistent'' with Lance Corporal TrimaanHarry'' Dhillon's explanation of how Alice Ruggles died during an unexpected visit to her Gateshead flat last October.

Newcastle Crown Court was told the 2 Scots signaller is claiming in his defence statement that the 24-year-old had scratched him and that he tried to restrain her in a headlock before she came at him with a carving knife and it ended up lodged in her neck.

Richard Wright QC, prosecuting, said Dhillon, 26, had first told police he had not gone into the flat, but his story changed when it was disclosed that Miss Ruggles' blood had been found on his Help For Heroes wristband and the steering wheel of his BMW.

In the defence statement, Dhillon denies murder but admits he was the only person with her when she died, the jury heard.

Mr Wright said Dhillon claims it was a combination of self-defence and accident''.

The defendant claims they had a row in the yard, that he climbed through a window to get into the flat and tried to find clothes belonging to him, and that Miss Ruggles came at him with a carving knife.

Dhillon says he put her in a headlock and she collapsed in the bathroom, falling on some scales and cutting her nose.

Later, he claims she grabbed the knife again when he told her he was going to meet a woman in Durham.

And she lunged at him, hitting her head on the sink, he claims.

In the struggle, Dhillon claims she suffered a loss of balance and, as they came together, the momentum pushed the knife into the side of her throat.

As she fell, it was pushed further in, his defence case states.

By this stage, she was bleeding heavily, and the Special Forces hopeful then says he suffered a flashback to a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

He tried to pull the knife out, but it was stuck at first, he claims.

He heard gurgling noises and he panicked, he says.

Dhillon drove back to his barracks near Edinburgh, contemplating suicide, his statement says.

Pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton found Miss Ruggles' neck had been sliced or slashed at least six times, leaving a wound that was 4.7in (120mm) long and gaped 1.2in (30mm) wide.

She said it severed the carotid artery, her windpipe and voice box and cut through to her spine.

Miss Ruggles also suffered a deep cut to the tip of her nose, and there was evidence that she had been knelt on, the pathologist said.

There were also cuts to her hands which appeared to be defence injuries, Dr Bolton said.

Her injuries were unsurvivable'', she told the court.

The pathologist said Dhillon's defence statement claims were broadly inconsistent'' with her findings.

The jury has heard how the pair had an intense relationship which Miss Ruggles, who was from Leicestershire, ended after she discovered evidence of his infidelity.

Dhillon visited her home despite her contacting police and gaining an official warning for him to keep away.

After he was arrested in Edinburgh, Mr Wright said Dhillon told police: She was concerned about guys like him killing their girlfriends.''

The trial continues.

Updated on 12.04.17

The jury in the murder trial of a soldier accused of murdering Alice Ruggles has heard she complained to police about her ex-boyfriend harassing her five days before she was murdered.

Her flat-mate Maxine McGill has told Newcastle Crown Court Alice thought the call was palmed off'' and that it had been awaste of time''.

Lance Corporal Trimaan Harry'' Dhillon, 26, is accused of slashing Alice Ruggles' neck from ear to ear and leaving her to bleed to death in the bathroom of her flat in Gateshead last October.

Police found an Oriental tribal mask in her bedroom, after her housemate Maxine came home to discover her horrifically injured, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The jury has heard how Ms Ruggles contacted police after she split up with the 2 Scots soldier and he continued to contact her, including travelling to Tyneside from barracks outside Edinburgh to knock on her door, tap on her window and leave flowers and chocolates on the sill late at night.

On his drive back he insisted in a voicemail message he did not intend to kill her, jurors were told.

He received an official warning and was told by his commanding officer to stay away, the court heard.

But five days before she was allegedly murdered, obsessed Dhillon sent her a parcel containing a letter, photos and a notebook.

Ms Ruggles rang 101, Ms McGill said, but was unable to speak to the first officer who had originally dealt with her, and discussed it with an operator instead.

Ms McGill, who was also a colleague of Ms Ruggles at Sky in Newcastle, told the court: She says she felt as if it was palmed off.

She was asked the question 'what do you want us to do about it?'

She said 'I don't know, that's why I am phoning you. I was asked to get back in touch if I had any further contact'.

She basically says it was just a waste of time.''

The court has heard she was asked if she wanted Dhillon arrested but she decided not to take that step.

Ms McGill, who moved from Glasgow to Tyneside to work for Sky as a team leader, said Dhillon almost creeped me out'' when she met him because he wasoverly nice''.

She came to find him controlling, manipulative and possessive around Ms Ruggles, whose behaviour changed when she was with him.

Their relationship declined after Ms Ruggles found Dhillon had been messaging other women on dating sites, Ms McGill said.

He used emotional blackmail to try to get her back, then threatened to release sexual photos of her, Ms McGill said.

The messages caused Ms Ruggles distress, her friend told the court.

Alice became an introvert, physically shaking, anxiety, skinny, she lost so much weight. She was pale.''

Ms McGill tearfully explained how she found her friend after hopping over a wall into the backyard and climbing into the ground floor flat through an open window.

She had called Alice'' several times through the letter box, having found the front door locked.

I was just about to give up, something was just not right, I just couldn't shake the feeling and I started to panic,'' she said.

She cried as she remembered getting in, finding her phone and being about to ring her friend to have a bit of a row'' about leaving the window open, before she saw her body.

It stopped me in me in my tracks, I just ran to her,'' Ms McGill said.The first thing I noticed was the amount of blood that was everywhere.''

The witness said she thought Ms Ruggles' legs looked broken.

She said: As soon as I saw her, I knew she was dead.

She was changing colour and the amount of blood that was everywhere.''

The jury has heard Ms Ruggles was from Leicestershire and decided to stay in Newcastle after taking a degree in product design at Northumbria University.

Dhillon denies murder and the case continues.