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| Knife: Charlotte Kerr |
The couple sometimes even rowed via text messages when together in their small one-bedroom flat and neighbours reported hearing frequent shouting matches, Croydon Crown Court was told.
Charlotte Kerr, 36, and Giovanni Wallace, 29, both trained prospective nursery and school teachers and began dating less than a year earlier.
“At 7.39am on Sunday, October 25, 2020 Ms Kerr spoke to a 999 operator and asked for an ambulance to come quickly to Clyde Road, Addiscombe,” said prosecutor Danny Robinson QC.
“Minutes earlier she had stabbed her boyfriend Mr Wallace in the chest with a kitchen knife.
“When she made the 999 call Mr Wallace was lying on the stairs of the property and neighbours were trying to give him first aid.”
Sadly, despite the efforts of paramedics nothing could be done to save Mr Wallace and he was pronounced dead at the address at 8.26am.
“She told the police officers that attended that she had stabbed Mr Wallace.
“He suffered a stab wound to the chest that penetrated his heart, causing him to lose a large amount of blood.
“She says Mr Wallace was trying to strangle her so she stabbed him to the chest in lawful self-defence.”
Showing photographs of the scene to the jurors Mr Robinson told them: “You will see some heavy blood-staining to clothing and in the flat’s communal area.”
Father-of-two Mr Wallace has children aged ten and three years-old from a previous relationship and started seeing Kerr in December, 2019, quickly moving into her flat.
However, their rows were so intense neighbours called police to the property in May, 2020 when Kerr was heard shouting: “F*** off and leave.”
Shortly before his death Mr Wallace asked his father if he could move in with him to get away from Kerr. “They had a big row about IVF and having children and the defendant was accusing him of having an affair.”
Police examined the couple’s mobile phones during the investigation.
“They found evidence of a number of text arguments,” said the prosecutor. “Sometimes they would argue by text when alone in the flat together.”
A month before the stabbing police found a 4.55am text row concerning “the rejection of Kerr by Mr Wallace sexually,” Mr Robinson told the trial.
On the morning of October 25 they were again rowing via text.
“Mr Wallace was asking Ms Kerr to ’shut up’ because he wanted to sleep and quickly became very argumentative,” said the prosecutor.
Mr Wallace texted: “My last ex was like that. I hate you, I really f***ing do. It’s the biggest mistake I f***ing made.”
The texting escalated to verbal arguing, even waking-up the next-door neighbour. “Both Ms Kerr and Mr Wallace sounded angry.
“Shortly before the stabbing the words: ‘F*** off then,” were heard and the neighbours downstairs heard loud shouting, mainly from Ms Kerr.”
The downstairs neighbour left their flat and witnessed the bloody scene. “They saw Giovanni Wallace lying in the communal hallway and Ms Kerr told them to call an ambulance and they started CPR.
Kerr told her neighbours: “He strangled me and I stabbed him.”
Kerr has pleaded not guilty to one count of murdering Mr Wallace at the flat on October 25, 2020.
Trial continues…………….
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