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A husband accused of causing his wife’s suicide after a campaign of domestic violence including strangulation today claimed neck injuries she sustained were caused by a ‘fluffy’ BDSM collar.
Christopher Trybus is on trial accused of being responsible for Tarryn Baird’s death because he subjected her to ‘extensive’ acts of manipulative behaviour and sexual violence.
Ms Baird took her own life aged 34 at their home in Swindon, Wiltshire, on November 28, 2017.
Trybus, 43, is charged with manslaughter, controlling and coercive behaviour and two counts of rape in relation to Ms Baird.
In court today, Trybus showed off a ‘soft-lined’ leather collar he claims he used in the bedroom with Ms Baird in a bid to explain the neck injuries she sustained.
Trybus – who prosecutors allege raped and beat Ms Baird – had finished giving evidence as the trial was coming to its conclusion but was recalled to the witness box to give evidence about the collar.
He argued the buckle on the otherwise ‘fluffy’ collar could have caused ‘pinching’, which could explain photographs of Ms Baird with superficial injuries from the period when he is alleged to have abused her.
Though he admitted the injuries in the photos look ‘more like bruising’, he argues all sexual activity was consensual and injuries occurred inadvertently from the collar.
Trybus is accused of being responsible for Ms Baird’s death because he subjected her to ‘extensive’ acts of manipulative behaviour and sexual violence.
Prosecutors say he unlawfully killed Ms Baird and if convicted will be the first person to be held responsible for another’s suicide.
Today, Trybus was recalled to give evidence at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire, and presented the collar he claims he and Ms Baird used for sex.
He seeks to use the sex prop as an alternative explanation as to how Ms Baird sustained the injuries shown in the photographs.
Trybus’s hands trembled as he held the collar up and showed how the different parts of the collar could have caused different injuries.
The bondage device was then passed around the jury bench and they each individually examined the evidence.
Trybus claimed it could have caused ‘scratching and pinching’ but that its set tightness meant it ‘wouldn’t have choked her as such’.
He explained the collar had been bought and delivered just a few days before it was used for the first and only time in September 2016.
But prosecutor Tom Little argued against Trybus’ version of events, claiming the collar was in fact never used by the couple and the injuries were caused by Trybus himself.
Trybus said: ‘There’s a collar and a belt buckle thing. It’s soft-lined but has a buckle. I can’t be 100 per cent certain but it could be that it pinched the skin as it overlapped or it could be that the buckle scratched or pinched the skin
‘Lastly there would have been some – not quite guiding – but pulling. I want to stress it wasn’t yanking, but that’s what could have happened. I didn’t see any injuries the next morning. She never said it hurt or was sore.
‘The nature of the buckle – I don’t think it slipped and tightened. I think it was set, I don’t think it choked her as such but would have pinched or scratched.
‘Here you can see it is lined but this little buckle thing could cause pinching or scratching. Further to that, I’m not a bruising or injuries expert.
‘This collar was ordered and delivered the Friday before she was injured and I believe that’s what caused her injuries. It certainly wasn’t caused by my hands.
‘I’ve never hidden behind the fact that the collar had caused the injury, I’ve been clear from day one that we had this collar and used it in consensual sex and it might have caused the injuries.’
Prosecutor Tom Little then argued: ‘So you’re now saying there were some abrasions, there were some cuts. But you tell us she never yelped out in pain, never complained at the time or complained afterwards.
‘You didn’t bring this in earlier, you didn’t think it would be useful to see it had a nice fluffy lining.
‘The reality I suggest is that you never used this Mr Trybus. The reality is she never used that collar because you strangled her on multiple occasions in September 2016.’
The trial continues.
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