A woman murdered her ex-boyfriend and tried to destroy the evidence by burning his body on a bonfire in her back garden, a court heard today.
Kirsti Windsor, 38, is accused of killing David Langdon, 40, after he refused to leave the remote cottage they shared.
The horse trainer (pictured) allegedly tried to incinerate his corpse on a number of occasions but failed.
She even tried to cover up the killing by telling police Mr Langdon had ”committed suicide by jumping on the bonfire”, it was said.
Windsor is charged with murdering Mr Langdon between August 9 and 12, 2008 and perverting the course of justice.
Her friend Katie Brown, 31, is accused of perverting the course of justice by helping Windsor burn Mr Langdon’s body.
On the first day of a seven week trial, the court heard Windsor had ended the couple’s our-year relationship after a series of violent rows.
Worcester Crown Court heard Windsor ordered Langdon to leave Wood Cottage in Wormelow, Herefordshire, after he tried to strangle her.
But he refused and when she returned from a trip to the Lake District on August 9 she discovered he was still there.
Three days later his charred remains were discovered lying under two wooden doors and two burned-out fires at the couple’s home.
Christopher Millington QC, prosecuting, told the court: ”Miss Windsor returned home expecting him to be long gone but clearly she was mistaken.
”Only two people know what happened to Mr Langdon at the cottage, one of them is dead and the other is Miss Windsor.
”Unhappily for Miss Windsor, it proved more difficult to incinerate a human body outdoors than she realised.”
A post mortem failed to reveal an exact cause of death and it is not known in Mr Langdon was hurled onto the fire alive.
Mr Millington added: ”This was no ordinary bonfire. It contained two tyres, a body, two wooden doors and petrol paraffin to help it light.”
Between August 10 and 13, villagers reported seeing plumes of smoke coming from the couple’s back garden and rancid fumes which smelt like ”burning bones”.
At 7.50pm on August 14, Windsor dialled 999 and told a police operator: ”This is kind of an emergency. I think my ex-boyfriend has committed suicide on the bonfire in my garden.”
When officers attended the scene they discovered the charred remains of Mr Langdon lying face-down on the bonfire.
Mr Millington told the court Windsor enlisted the help of friend and local barmaid Katie Brown to help her dispose of the body.
Brown denied helping Windsor. But the court heard that, days after Mr Langdon was discovered, she was overheard in her local pub drunkenly saying: ”I’ve already disposed of one body, I can get rid of another.”
Brunette Windsor, who sat in the dock wearing a green tweed jacket and scarf, fought back tears as the court was shown pictures of Mr Langdon’s burned remains.
The trial continues.
