A tape featuring a Bath women apparently pleading for her life during her final moments has been played during a murder trial.
Mother-of-one Carmen Miron Buchacra, who was known as Gaby, was strangled in her Bennett Street flat late on the night of Saturday, June 23, earlier this year.
Her fiance and father of their 11-week-old daughter Paul Keene, 31, has admitted manslaughter but has pleaded not guilty to her murder and is on trial at Bristol Crown Court.
The court heard that Keene and 28-year-old Gaby, who was studying for a PhD at the University of Bath, had been having difficulties within their relationship, but despite this were planning to get married in her native Mexico this autumn.
On the day of Gaby's death, Keene had taken part in the Bath Boules tournament in Queen Square with his financial services firm Advance Investments.
A series of text messages exchanged throughout the day, which were read out in court, showed that Gaby was unhappy with the amount of time he was spending with his colleagues and friends.
Towards the end of the afternoon she texted him to say that he was not welcome to come home that night, she did not want to be with him any more and he would not see his daughter again.
However, Keene made no mention of this escalating row to his friends and continued on for food and drinks at a number of city centre pubs.
He made his way home at around 10.30pm, apparently in good spirits, and his best friend Ben Jones and two others went to Bath railway station to catch a train back to Chippenham.
Keene arrived back at the Bennett Street flat and the row between the pair quickly grew aggressive, leading to a tearful Gaby phoning Mr Jones to ask him to collect his friend because she did not want him in the house.
Mr Jones apologised but said there was nothing he could do because the train was already moving out of the station and the phone cut off shortly after that.
During the short train journey he tried to phone both Keene and Gaby to see what was going on, but could not get through to either of them.
It was only when he arrived in Chippenham and picked up a voicemail from Gaby which had been recorded at 10.46pm that he realised the seriousness of the situation.
At the time he only listened to the start of the message, but he could hear Gaby crying and the sounds of Keene raising his voice.
He immediately started phoning the couple but could not get through to either of them.
The rest of the harrowing voicemail was played in court today and the jury heard Gaby screaming, sobbing and pleading with Keene to stop as he told her "I'm going to end up in prison because you will be dead".
It ends with the sounds of Gaby being punched and choked and then silence.
Over in Chippenham Mr Jones texted Keene at 11.14pm saying "Get Gaby to ring me or I'm ringing the police. You have ten minutes."
Six minutes later he received a text from Gaby's phone which read "It is ok Ben, I'm ok".
He immediately replied asking her to call him, but ten minutes later got another text from her phone saying she had gone for a walk to calm down.
The prosecution say that by this stage Gaby was almost certainly dead and it was Keene sending messages from her phone.
Mr Jones spoke to Keene just after 11.45pm and he reiterated the story that Gaby had gone out for a walk, but his unconvinced friend phoned the police, followed by Keene himself, who eventually dialled 999 at 12.12am.
A paramedic and police officers were soon on the scene and found Gaby's lifeless body in the bedroom, with blood on the carpets and furniture.
She had suffered severe bruising to her face, forehead and head, and had been strangled around the neck with a ligature, believed to be a length of electrical cabling.
Keene was arrested at the scene, initially on suspicion of attempted murder, but when it was confirmed that Gaby was dead, then on suspicion of murder.
During his opening statement today Michael Fitton, prosecuting, said: "Our case is that when he (Keene) reached for the electrical cable he was showing a determination to kill her that is at odds with the defence case.
"His case is that he is not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter because there was a "loss of control". Our case is that as a matter of fact, and the facts are for you to determine, he didn't lose his self control, he only lost his temper. He kept control of his actions and he was fully aware of what he was doing as he strangled her, put an electrical cable around her neck and said the words you will hear him saying and shouting to her."
He added: "Also, afterwards, in that hour between 11pm and midnight, after he has killed her, this defendant had the presence of mind to send a series of text messages to Ben Jones. A man with the ability to lie to a close friend within minutes of killing his partner is not a man who has lost self control."
The defence case has not yet been heard and the trial continues.
Mother-of-one Carmen Miron Buchacra, who was known as Gaby, was strangled in her Bennett Street flat late on the night of Saturday, June 23, earlier this year.
Her fiance and father of their 11-week-old daughter Paul Keene, 31, has admitted manslaughter but has pleaded not guilty to her murder and is on trial at Bristol Crown Court.
The court heard that Keene and 28-year-old Gaby, who was studying for a PhD at the University of Bath, had been having difficulties within their relationship, but despite this were planning to get married in her native Mexico this autumn.
On the day of Gaby's death, Keene had taken part in the Bath Boules tournament in Queen Square with his financial services firm Advance Investments.
A series of text messages exchanged throughout the day, which were read out in court, showed that Gaby was unhappy with the amount of time he was spending with his colleagues and friends.
Towards the end of the afternoon she texted him to say that he was not welcome to come home that night, she did not want to be with him any more and he would not see his daughter again.
However, Keene made no mention of this escalating row to his friends and continued on for food and drinks at a number of city centre pubs.
He made his way home at around 10.30pm, apparently in good spirits, and his best friend Ben Jones and two others went to Bath railway station to catch a train back to Chippenham.
Keene arrived back at the Bennett Street flat and the row between the pair quickly grew aggressive, leading to a tearful Gaby phoning Mr Jones to ask him to collect his friend because she did not want him in the house.
Mr Jones apologised but said there was nothing he could do because the train was already moving out of the station and the phone cut off shortly after that.
During the short train journey he tried to phone both Keene and Gaby to see what was going on, but could not get through to either of them.
It was only when he arrived in Chippenham and picked up a voicemail from Gaby which had been recorded at 10.46pm that he realised the seriousness of the situation.
At the time he only listened to the start of the message, but he could hear Gaby crying and the sounds of Keene raising his voice.
He immediately started phoning the couple but could not get through to either of them.
The rest of the harrowing voicemail was played in court today and the jury heard Gaby screaming, sobbing and pleading with Keene to stop as he told her "I'm going to end up in prison because you will be dead".
It ends with the sounds of Gaby being punched and choked and then silence.
Over in Chippenham Mr Jones texted Keene at 11.14pm saying "Get Gaby to ring me or I'm ringing the police. You have ten minutes."
Six minutes later he received a text from Gaby's phone which read "It is ok Ben, I'm ok".
He immediately replied asking her to call him, but ten minutes later got another text from her phone saying she had gone for a walk to calm down.
The prosecution say that by this stage Gaby was almost certainly dead and it was Keene sending messages from her phone.
Mr Jones spoke to Keene just after 11.45pm and he reiterated the story that Gaby had gone out for a walk, but his unconvinced friend phoned the police, followed by Keene himself, who eventually dialled 999 at 12.12am.
A paramedic and police officers were soon on the scene and found Gaby's lifeless body in the bedroom, with blood on the carpets and furniture.
She had suffered severe bruising to her face, forehead and head, and had been strangled around the neck with a ligature, believed to be a length of electrical cabling.
Keene was arrested at the scene, initially on suspicion of attempted murder, but when it was confirmed that Gaby was dead, then on suspicion of murder.
During his opening statement today Michael Fitton, prosecuting, said: "Our case is that when he (Keene) reached for the electrical cable he was showing a determination to kill her that is at odds with the defence case.
"His case is that he is not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter because there was a "loss of control". Our case is that as a matter of fact, and the facts are for you to determine, he didn't lose his self control, he only lost his temper. He kept control of his actions and he was fully aware of what he was doing as he strangled her, put an electrical cable around her neck and said the words you will hear him saying and shouting to her."
He added: "Also, afterwards, in that hour between 11pm and midnight, after he has killed her, this defendant had the presence of mind to send a series of text messages to Ben Jones. A man with the ability to lie to a close friend within minutes of killing his partner is not a man who has lost self control."
The defence case has not yet been heard and the trial continues.
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