THE MAN accused of killing his estranged wife refused to step in the witness box to answer questions in his defence.
Raymond Hoadley, 62, is accused of the murder of Jacqueline Hoadley, 58, at her home in Eastbourne last summer.
Prosecutors claim he scaled over a fence using a wheelie bin late at night and crept into the house in Broad Oak Close.
He then went straight upstairs to where she was sleeping, and attacked her in her bed.
Jacqueline, known as Jackie, was a prominent disability rights campaigner in the town.
She was stabbed and there were signs she had been strangled.
But at Hove Crown Court, Hoadley, who is accused of her murder refused to give evidence in his defence.
Caroline Carberry QC told the court that Hoadley's distinctive vehicle was seen driving in nearby Rotherfield Avenue.
She said the grey Renault van is the only vehicle of its type registered in the Eastbourne area.
A boot print on the wheelie bin matching what Hoadley first told police he was wearing. Jackie's blood was found in the boot sole.
His DNA was also found near a door handle in the property.
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A month earlier Hoadley was heard by a neighbour shouting to himself in his room by a neighbour, saying: "I'm want to f****** kill you, I want to strangle you."
The same neighbour said Hoadley was heard putting a wash on of the clothes he claimed he had been wearing that night.
CCTV showed Hoadley at Eastbourne seafront for a matter of minutes, where prosecutors say he dumped the murder weapon or weapons. A month later, a pair of scissors washed up there.
Ms Carberry said Hoadley, of Willowfield Road, Eastbourne, was in a "fragile" state of mind after being taken to a psychiatric unit after trying to take his own life.
He feared Jackie would meet someone else, and would take the savings and investments worth up to £1 million.
But George Carter-Stephenson QC, defending Hoadley, told jurors that there are doubts about the prosecution case.
He said it cannot be guaranteed that it was Hoadley's vehicle in Rotherfield Avenue.
No blood or traces of blood were found in the van. No traces of blood were found on the clothes in the washing machine.
That is despite chemicals used by police which are "very sensitive" to any traces of blood.
He said the blood found on the shoe could have been there for a long time, claiming Jackie's health meant she sometimes coughed blood.
The suggestion is the blood could have been there for many months. There was no shoe print in blood at the scene.
He said the DNA of Hoadley found on Jackie's bedroom door could have been blood or other DNA. But as Hoadley lived there for many years, finding his DNA is "not unexpected".
Mr Carter-Stephenson said Hoadley did not own many clothes after moving out, and "kept odd hours" to explain the washing machine being used at 2am.
The jury members will be asked to consider their verdict by Judge Jeremy Gold QC today.
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