An "outstanding and gifted" Bath University student subjected her fiance to months of verbal abuse which caused him to "snap" and kill her, a court heard yesterday.
High-flying investment worker Paul Keene, 32, strangled Carmen Miron Buchacra, known as Gaby, following a violent argument at their home.
Keene denies murder but admits manslaughter on the grounds of loss of control.
Bristol Crown Court heard Gaby, from Bath, believed Keene would take their baby, Eleanor, away from her and stop her from seeing the new-born entirely.
A jury was told their two-year relationship was subject to constant arguments and that Gaby would often fight with Keene and accuse him of spending too much time with his friends and colleagues.
Keene told police how Gaby had asked him to take Eleanor on a walk but had called him only minutes later in hysterics claiming he was trying to take her baby away from her.
He said she had told him: "Bring my baby back now, you will never take my baby away from me. Come back now."
When Keene returned to the flat angry, Gaby began throwing things at him, while he cradled their baby, and demanded that he give Eleanor back to her.
He added that she had scratched him and ripped the shirt he was wearing.
Keene said: "I told her to calm down and then I would give Eleanor back to her.
"I told her to go and sit in another room to relax and that I wasn't going anywhere with Eleanor.
"She then picked up the phone to call her aunt in California, still in hysterics."
Keene told police that he loved his fiancee and their baby and did not want to take Eleanor away.
He added that he had stumbled across a search on their computer, conducted by Gaby, asking 'can I take my baby overseas without permission' which had worried him.
Keene said it was then that he had contacted a solicitor to ask if he had any rights if she decided to do so but had ignored calls after the argument had blown over.
He said: "I hoped she wouldn't take Eleanor away but I thought she could. She had walked away from a lot of things in her life.
"She was stubborn and very set. She always said that once she had her mind on something there was no changing it.
"My immediate reaction was that was very upsetting. It was a bit of a kick in the teeth.
"I didn't confront her because it was best not to because it would have caused an issue.
"It was the whole 'ignore it and it will go away' thing."
When asked about their relationship Keene said they had been very happy and had both planned for a baby.
He described Gaby as "beautiful and kind" and who "would give you 100 per cent", but also as someone who wanted a partner who was 100 per cent committed.
The court heard how, on the day of the incident, while Keene was out playing boules with colleagues, she sent him "snotty" texts accusing him of "kissing his boss' arse" and choosing his colleagues over his family.
In his interview Keene said that the accusations were a regular occurrence and she would regularly get upset over his choice to work.
He spoke of one occasion where she had kicked off at him after he had told her he needed to work in Oxford for two days.
Although he had organised for his sister to stay with her she had got very angry and refused the offer, instead insisting that he remained at home. The financial administrator, who was taking a course to change his career to clinical sports and remedial massage therapy, added that he was forced to travel to and from Oxford on a daily basis to appease her.
The court was also told how Gaby had disclosed to her aunt Maria Buchacra-Agiss, who she spoke to following the shirt ripping incident, that Keene had "raised his hand to her" sometime before she was pregnant but refused disclose any other details.
Giving evidence from California, Maria said she was "very worried" about her niece.
Maria said: "She was telling me that Paul Keene said to her he was going to take the baby away from her.
"She said to me he said he was going to go to court and take the baby away from her. I told her to calm down and that is wasn't that easy.
"She then told me, she said 'I'm going to tell you something but you need to swear to me that you are not going to repeat this'.
"I said I promise you and she told me that two weeks before she found out she was pregnant that Paul had hit her.
"She said he had 'raised his hand' because we were talking in Spanish and she didn't want him to know she'd told me."
The trial continues on Monday.
