Woman accused of murder blames night terrors for ex-partner's injuries

The 32-year-old fell quiet as she gave evidence this afternoon as the questioning turned to her mental health, a main focal point of the case for the defence.

Reid, who during the morning session wept in court as she spoke about her “horrible and violent” father, was later questioned about whether she ever hit or kicked her partner during arguments.

“We were both as bad as each other,” she said. “It wasn’t to the point where we were knocking seven bells out of each other. It was little slaps and digs like punches.”

When asked where the pair would hit each other, Reid responded: “Arms, face, I can’t remember. I forget things, through my mental health.”

Reid was asked what the couple would usually argue about. “Housework,” she said. “Helping around the house with the cleaning. Say there was something on the floor, she would walk past it 20 to 30 times. At the end of the day it would still be there. Something that should be in the bin by rights.

“It would take me to pick it up. It’s not just mine it’s everyone’s duty to help around the house. It would annoy me. It’s dirty, it shouldn’t be there. It’s common sense that it shouldn’t be there. Everything was left to me. Nobody else would help me. It was me hanging out the washing, it was me putting the washer on.It was me.”

Mr Csoka addressed a poignant part of the prosecution’s evidence, in which Reid attended a therapy appointment with Lyndsey, who reportedly had a black eye at the time.

“Do you remember whether you were asked about the black eye?” said Mr Csoka.

“It happened during my night terror,” said Reid. “I have night terrors, out of body experiences. I can see myself as I was lying in bed. I can see myself, looking down at myself.”

Allegations that the pair's "prolonged" abuse towards Lyndsey caused her to lose a vast amount of weight, were denied by Reid, who said that she never asked or told her lover to lose weight.

"Did it bother you when she was overweight," asked Mr Csoka, to which Reid responded. "No, I loved her. I loved her for who she was. I tried to urge her to go to the doctor. 'I will I will she said,' but she never did."

Reid insisted that Lyndsey Vaux, whose family reported her as "unrecognisable" due to her drastic weight loss, was not "looking after herself".

"She just gave up on herself," she said. "She gradually gave up on herself. Of course I worried about her. I used to look at her and think that I was thin, but that she was thinner than me."

The court heard how Lyndsey was diagnosed with a thyroid condition, but continuously failed to turn up to appointments.

Reid added: “I went with her to the Thomas Linacre Centre. She was getting pains in her chest. She had to get some blood tests done but was scared of needles. After that she didn’t bother going to the appointments. She was her own individual person.”

The jury heard Reid also deny episodes of violence towards Miss Newns, who gave evidence against the pair earlier in the trial, accusing Gillian Reid of standing on her throat and Becky Reid of hitting her over the head with a glass ornament. An incident which landed the alleged victim in hospital and reportedly ended the couple’s relationship for good.

hen asked about this particular incident, Reid claimed that she had given her girlfriend a drink of Cherryade before she fell backwards, but she cannot remember hitting her at any point.

“She just went backwards and just passed out or something or other,” Reid said.

The jilted lover, who later received a restraining order preventing her from contacting Miss Newns, said that she was “upset” that the relationship was over.

“It was a good relationship with us,” she explained. “It did hurt it was upsetting. I got a text off her saying ‘I’m sorry for what I have done’.

“About two days later the police came banging on my door saying I have broken the restraining order. I explained to the police, I didn’t contact her, she contacted me first. They said we were both as bad as each other.”

Further action was then dropped by police.

Today's evidence was cut short slightly early following a recommendation from a mental health professional assigned to care for Reid during the trial.

Proceeding.