'I just snapped' says Walsall husband accused of murdering his wife
A husband unintentionally killed his new wife when he 'snapped' after she found out he was gay and threatened to expose him, a court heard.
Jasvir Ram Ginday is accused of murdering his 24-year-old wife, Varkha Rani, on September 12 last year and then burning her body in the back garden of their home in Walsall.
See below for live updates from the trial today by reporter Deborah Hardiman.
Outlining the defence case, Mr David Nathan QC told Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday that Ginday and his wife had been cleaning the family home in Victory Lane, Reedswood, but he found Varkha packing when he fetched a vacuum cleaner upstairs for her to use.
He said: "She had discovered that he was gay and she tells him the last thing that he wanted to hear – I'm leaving you, I discovered it and I'm going to expose you for what you really are."
He said there was a struggle and he placed the pipe from the vacuum cleaner against her throat, using 'moderate force'.
"He snapped and he applied too much pressure," Mr Nathan said. "He had no intention of killing her."
Taking the witness stand yesterday, former Alumwell School and Wolverhampton University student Ginday said he had realised he was gay at the age of 12.
The 29-year-old, who said he came to work for the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2012, said he first went to see his doctor due to depression in 2010 or 2011 but was uncomfortable in revealing his sexuality to his GP. He said he also felt unable to tell his parents the truth because they would be 'shocked' and 'devastated'.
Ginday said prior to his relationship with Varkha he had not had a relationship with another woman. He told the court he wanted to get married to please his parents but also wanted children and wanted to make a marriage work.
He said he travelled to India in October 2012 and met 15 women before deciding to get engaged to Varkha in an arranged marriage. He admitted there were 'teething' problems to begin with, but added: "I definitely did love her."
The couple married in India in March last year, but he said the relationship never got intimate. When asked how he felt about Varkha arriving in the UK in August, Ginday said he felt 'elated'.
The court also heard that during a police interview Ginday continuously denied having anything to do with his wife's death and said he was 'devastated' by what had happened.
He filed a missing persons report, falsely claiming she had pushed him down stairs and walked out on him. He also told police she returned a short while later with two people who he later saw dragging a body down the stairs.
Mr Nathan said Ginday lied because he did not want to admit he had killed his wife. He denies murder but admits manslaughter and perverting the course of justice. The trial continues.
