A "jealous and obsessed" ex-boyfriend allegedly stabbed and strangled a Suffolk mother-of-two to death after waiting for her to return home, a jury has heard.
Charles Jessop, 29, took a knife with him when he cycled to Clare Nash's home in Brickfields Avenue, Newmarket, on January 16, 2020, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
Miss Nash, 33, was not at home when Jessop arrived - so he waited for her to return before attacking her and stabbing her multiple times, Mark Cotter QC, prosecuting, told the jury.
Mr Cotter said the knife broke during the attack and Jessop then strangled her.
A pathologist could not determine whether she died from blood loss or strangulation, Mr Cotter said.
Ms Nash's friend Peter Claringbold, who lived with her, "was inside and heard screaming coming from the front doorstep", Mr Cotter said.
Mr Claringbold heard Jessop shouting "you're going to die", the court heard.
He dialled 999 but medics were not able to save Miss Nash.
The attack happened in the presence of Miss Nash's three-year-old son, the court heard.
Jessop, of Bakers Row, Newmarket, denies murder.
Jessop is "seeking to raise issues as to the state of his mind at the time of the killing", and will claim the antidepressant drug Citalopram affected him, Mr Cotter added.
The jury heard that Miss Nash began to withdraw from the relationship during December 2019, and was "bombarded" by calls and text messages from Jessop.
On Christmas Day 2019, Jessop contacted Miss Nash 95 times when she sent him only five replies.
Between December 26 and 29, Jessop contacted Miss Nash a further 174 times, and she sent only 15 replies, the jury heard.
Miss Nash began a new relationship with a man who worked at the Golden Lion pub in Newmarket, the court heard.
On January 14, Miss Nash dialled 999 and while on the phone to police, she answered a call from Jessop and he could be heard making threats to her and her new boyfriend, Mr Cotter said.
Mr Cotter told the court Jessop was also caught on body-worn camera by security staff at the Golden Lion pub, making offensive comments and threats to kill Miss Nash.
On the morning of January 16, Miss Nash had spoken to police about Jessop and the level of risk to her was assessed as "medium", Mr Cotter said.
"She recorded problems she was having with Charles Jessop but didn't want to make a statement," he said.
Mr Cotter added: "The prosecution say Jessop had simply become angered by Clare Nash's determined rejection of his advancements, and further angered by the commencement of a new relationship.
"That anger and jealously drove him to kill Clare Nash in a pre-meditated, vicious and cowardly attack within her own home."
The trial, which is expected to last three to four weeks, continues.
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