Vincent Tabak could have walked away from Joanna Yeates attack, court told

Accused held neighbour by the throat long enough to ‘squeeze the life out of her’, prosecutor says in closing speech Vincent Tabak could have released his grip on Joanna Yeates’s throat at any time during his “protracted and insistent attack”, a jury has heard. He could have walked away but chose not to, Nigel Lickley QC said in his closing speech at Bristol crown court. Lickley, prosecuting, said Tabak had been in control of his actions. Yeates, who was smaller and weaker, had fought back but Tabak carried on, he said. The prosecutor said there could be no doubt about Tabak’s intention. He had held Yeates by the throat long enough to “squeeze the life out of her”. Tabak had intended to kill Yeates or cause her serious harm, the jury was told. During the trial the court heard that Tabak had his hand around Yeates’s throat for about 20 seconds. “It’s a long time when you have your hand around the throat of another person,” said Lickley. “He could have at any point released his grip and walked away. He chose not to.” Tabak, a 33-year-old Dutch engineer, has admitted manslaughter but denies murdering his 25-year-old neighbour. He says he put one hand on Yeates’s throat and the other on her mouth when the landscape architect screamed after he made a romantic pass at her. Tabak has denied that Yeates struggled and said he cannot recall how she came by injuries to her neck, face, ribs and back. Lickley claimed that Tabak had said more than 80 times in the witness box that he could not remember parts of the incident at Yeates’s flat in Bristol on 17 December last year. But Lickley put to the jury that Tabak was a “cunning” and “shrewd” man who had carefully constructed a case to try to avoid being convicted of murder. The barrister made it clear that the prosecution alleged there was a sexual element to the case. “It is a killing linked to sex,” he said. The central point the jury had to consider, Lickley said, was what Tabak had intended. He asked them to reflect on how long 20 seconds was if a person was being strangled. It was not an instantaneous action like a thrust from a knife. “It is protracted and insistent,” Lickley told the jury. Tabak’s barrister, William Clegg QC, is giving his closing speech on Tuesday afternoon. The trial continues. Joanna Yeates Crime Steven Morris guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 25, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.