Saturday 12 October 2013

Times: Chrissie Azzopardi murder trial starts in London

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131008/local/chrissie-azzopardi-murder-trial-starts-in-london.489524#.UlmCCNI6KSo
Tuesday, October 8, 2013, 13:13

The trial has started in London of a man who stands accused of killing a transgender woman with a Maltese name.

Chrissie Azzopardi was fatally stabbed in her flat in North London in April. The badly decomposed body was found two months later.

Romy Maynard, 28, a neighbour, is pleading not guilty to murder.

Prosecuting, Mark Heywood QC said her killer had been "swift and brutal" and he left her while she lay "dead or dying", the BBC reported. The body was found after neighbours noticed a bad smell coming from the flat.

The 22-year-old, who had been due to undergo gender surgery in late 2012, was discovered lying on her bed.

She had been stabbed in the chest, pushed down and then stabbed again with force which had pierced her heart, the court heard.

He said she had probably known her killer and had "allowed him there", adding that her attacker had left "biological traces" at the scene.

Mr Heywood went on to tell the court that Ms Azzopardi had "everything to look forward to in life, although her state of mind at that time was, on occasions, up and down".

Mr Maynard lived with his girlfriend and child, but their relationship was "on the wane" and that telephone records showed that he and Ms Azzopardi had been in touch in the days preceding her death.

The trial continues.

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