A Worcestershire man has told a jury how he discovered his neighbour's lifeless and bloodied body in his garden after she was knifed to death by her American husband.
Stephen Kennedy told Wolverhampton Crown Court how he found Lucy Landry - who had been stabbed 23 times - lying under a hedge, moments after hearing her screaming for help.
Mrs Landry's husband, wealthy retired engineer Harold Landry, denies murdering the 38-year-old on the night of February 1 last year, claiming he is instead guilty of manslaughter.
Giving evidence on the second day of Landry's trial, Mr Kennedy said he had visited the Landrys' home on the upmarket Besford Court estate near Pershore, Worcestershire, on the night of the killing.
But around an hour after he left his neighbours' three-storey home, Mr Kennedy heard screaming and the sound of a male voice. He told the trial: "I was just dozing, obviously trying to get some sleep. At that point I heard a scream."
Mr Kennedy said he recognised the voice calling out his name as that of Mrs Landry, and said he got out of bed when he realised the sounds he could hear were "more than an argument".
"Just before it (the screaming) stopped, I could hear my gravel drive. I could hear a scuffle on the drive and a muffled male voice and then it went silent."
Mr Kennedy told the jury how he then went outside to look for Mrs Landry. "I ran across my drive ... and at that point noticed a figure in the hedge," Mr Kennedy continued.
"At that point, I couldn't establish who exactly it was. I thought the person was unconscious."
Mr Kennedy also recalled how he managed to pick up the body to get the person out of the hedge.
"I could then see it was Lucy Landry," Mr Kennedy said. "I checked for a pulse and breathing. There was no sign of life."
The prosecution alleges that Mr Landry murdered his wife as he battled to stop her benefiting from their impending divorce.
