'Do I look like a rugby player?' Wednesfield murder accused admits he hit victim but denies killing him
One of two people accused of murdering Ricardo Maragliano in Wednesfield has admitted hitting him but not killing him.
Ovidiu Gurita, aged 38, is jointly accused with his partner Vasilica Bornescu, aged 34, of the murder at a house in Thorneycroft Lane, Wednesfield on May 30, 2023.
Taking the stand for the second day of cross-examination at Wolverhampton Crown Court by prosecuting counsel Mark Fenhalls KC, Gurita repeatedly denied killing Mr Maragliano, though he admitted he did hit him on the nose.
The court previously heard Bornescu, who was a sex worker; Gurita, who was her pimp; and Maragliano had been together in the early hours of May 30 and there had been sexual activity between the three of them.
On Monday (July 7) the court heard Mr Maragliano had suffered a dislocated bone in the neck, an injury described by a pathologist as having only been able to be caused by force akin to that of an American football tackle.
Speaking through a Romanian interpreter, when asked if he caused that injury, Gurita said: "Do I look like a rugby player?"
