Leigh Park murder trial: 'Manipulative, possessive and jealous’ Shaye Groves, 27, accused of brutally murdering boyfriend Frankie Fitzgerald

Shaye Groves, 27, left a ‘massive gash’ in Frankie Fitzgerald’s throat during a frenzied attack that also saw him stabbed repeatedly in the chest after the mum flew into a rage when finding messages from the victim to another female, jurors at Winchester Crown Court heard on Friday morning during the opening of the trial.

Groves, of Botley Drive, Leigh Park, is on trial for Frankie’s murder after his body was found in the early hours of July 17 at her address in a killing that shocked a community. She denies the murder. Frankie, 25, was found inside the Botley Drive property just after 8am by officers.

READ NOW: Boat stolen

The court heard Groves, who previously went by the name Shaye Corrigan, was ‘obsessed’ with Frankie because of his ‘performance in the bedroom’. The couple were into ‘rough’ sex including bondage, domination, submission and masochism (BDSM).

Prosecutor Steve Perian KC said: ‘The prosecution's case is that the defendant is a manipulative, possessive and jealous woman. And in the early hours of Sunday of July 17 she stabbed Frankie Fitzgerald multiple times with a knife in her bedroom and left him to die without seeking any medical assistance to save his life.

‘When she stabbed him she either intended to kill or at very least cause him grievous bodily harm. The killing is very likely to be a crime of passion driven by her jealousy.’

Frankie, who had alcohol and cocaine in his system, woke up after being stabbed and tried to ‘fight back’ before collapsing at the bottom of the bed in a pool of blood. ‘Splatters’ of blood were left on a bookcase with the defendant putting the dagger in her bathroom sink as she cleaned up the room, the court heard.

After the killing Groves, who lived at the address with friend Lauren White, was told by her pal: ‘I’m going to crack.’ But Groves told her: ‘You can’t crack, you’re an accomplice.’ The defendant later told police at the address Ms White was not involved. White was also cleared from the murder investigation.

Mr Perian said a couple of hours after the attack Groves admitted the murder to her friend Vicki Baitup during a video call at 7.45am in which she was ‘laughing’. She showed her the body covered in a duvet and ‘deep cut to his neck area’. During the conversation the prosecutor said Groves confessed to the killing and said: ‘I just lost it. I picked up my dagger and stabbed him in his neck.’

Groves also sent Ms Baitup messages after the killing to act as an alibi for the killing after claiming Frankie had ‘walked out on me’.

Ms Baitup contacted police before officers arrived at the address, when Groves told them, ‘I took a man’s life’. She told officers Frankie had tried to attack her then gave no comment answers to police when at the station.

Mum-of-one White, 26, of Cheltenham Road, Portsmouth, was previously charged with failing to comply with police to disclose a pin code for her iPhone during their probe but this has also since been dropped.

Groves denies murder.

(Proceeding)