Staffordshire man accused of murdering partner denies he is ‘violent bully’

Dale Cole, 39, is said to have inflicted serious internal injuries on Lisa Holland, 39, at the home they shared in Burton-on-Trent on October 20 2022, with prosecutors alleging her death was the culmination of a “long period of abuse” at the hands of an “overbearing, controlling and abusive” Cole.

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The defendant is facing a trial at Stafford Crown Court accused of murder, three counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm against his partner, who is said to have suffered with alcohol dependency and was vulnerable.

Jurors were told on Wednesday they were no longer expected to reach a verdict on a further count of causing grievous bodily harm in light of new expert evidence.

Cole has previously admitted manslaughter, controlling or coercive behaviour and one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

The defendant, who walked between the dock and the witness box with the help of crutches, told the trial he had been involved in an “altercation” with Miss Holland after he arrived home to Victoria Crescent from work on the day she died to find she had been drinking after a period of abstinence.

He became tearful, removing his glasses and wiping his eyes with a tissue in the witness box, as he described punching her four times at the top of the stairs after she allegedly hit out at him and kicked him.

Cole said after the altercation, he went downstairs and fell asleep on the sofa before waking around 20 minutes later and finding his partner at the bottom of the stairs.

Jurors were previously shown graphic photographs alleged to have been taken by Cole at 4.49pm of Miss Holland on her own phone as she lay unconscious and fatally injured on the stairs, around an hour and a half before the defendant called 999 at 6.23pm.

When questioned by his barrister Mark Heywood KC, Cole denied knowing how Miss Holland came to be at the bottom of the stairs and said he played no part in it.

Asked how he felt seeing his partner lying at the foot of the stairs, Cole said: “Upset… I thought why have you done this to me again? Can’t you just ask for help?

“I was just speechless with it all really.”

Cole said he walked away and left her injured because it was his “coping mechanism” when they had arguments but thought she was OK.

He said he did not think to move his injured partner somewhere more comfortable in case she became “aggressive and asked for more alcohol”.

After checking on her again around an hour later, he said Miss Holland’s pulse was weak so he started CPR and called 999, with paramedics later pronouncing her dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination carried out on Miss Holland’s body found at least 40 broken ribs, with at least 30 of those having been inflicted in the previous weeks and months, the court was told.

Cole admitted having given Miss Holland black eyes and punching her, but denied ever stamping on her or kicking her during their nearly four-year relationship.

He said he struggled to cope with his partner’s drinking and would “lose control and lash out” when she drank for days at a time – something he says he regrets doing – but says he never intended to cause her serious harm.

He admitted hitting Miss Holland led her to fear she would be injured again, but denied he had controlled her money.

He said: “I tried to walk away but I couldn’t walk away from Lisa because I cared about her and loved her and she loved me. It was hard to walk away.”

He added: “When she started drinking heavily it made me think I don’t want to go home (from work) but I had to go home because I loved her and she was my soulmate.

“I hoped one day she would realise what stress it was causing me and see the light.”

Cross-examining the defendant, prosecution counsel Edward Brown KC said Cole used violence as a punishment for Miss Holland’s drinking – something he denied.

“Mr Cole, you’re a violent bully, aren’t you?”, Mr Brown said. “Over the period of just under two years, from text messages, there are over 30 occasions where there is evidence from your word and Lisa’s that you hit her, mainly to the face.”

Cole said: “I admit I punched her in the face, yes, but (I’m) not a bully.”

The defendant admitted he lied during police interviews after his arrest for murder but insisted he was telling the truth in front of the jury.

Mr Brown said: “You are a man who just can’t tell the truth and lie when it helps you.

“Are you lying to this jury to help yourself now?”

Cole replied: “No… I need to tell the truth to everyone. Because I put my hand on the bible and I’m telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

He said he had lied to the police because he thought he could “get away with” having injured Miss Holland before she died.

Mr Brown said: “It is always somebody’s else’s fault. For you, it’s me, me, me isn’t it?

“You told us today that when you took the video of her lying on the stairs almost upside down ‘I was upset and thought why are you doing it to me again’.

“Those were your words. Why was it her fault that she was lying upside down on the stairs fatally injured, Mr Cole?”

“I don’t know,” the defendant replied.

The trial continues on Friday.