13 Oct 2011

Vincent Tabak trials hears of days before his arrest

Home Affairs Correspondent

Jurors at the trial of Vincent Tabak, accused of murdering Jo Yeates in December of last year, have heard about his behaviour in the days before his arrest.

Jurors at the trial of Vincent Tabak, accused of murdering Jo Yeates, have heard about his behaviour in the days before his arrest.

Jurors heard about a dinner party held on the 15 January this year at a house in Bristol, hosted by friends of Tabak and his girlfriend Tanja Morson.

A small group gathered, the court heard, in a relaxed atmosphere. The 33-year-old Dutch engineer and his girlfriend sat holding hands under the table (according to Sarah Maddock, one of those present, Tanja had previously stated that she and Vincent Tabak were intending to get married and start a family later in the year).

The host Andrew Lillie recalled in a statement how talk turned to the subject of Jo Yeates when Tabak and Ms Morson revealed how the police had visited them in Holland on New Year’s Eve to discuss the case.

“Vincent”, said Mr Lillie, “interjected with a few things but it was mainly Tanja who did the talking.”

Tabak, the jurors heard, remarked how he’d not seen Jo Yeates’s cat all weekend.

In one of the most striking pieces of evidence read out today, the court also heard how the dinner party discussion turned to the subject of the mindset of Jo Yeates’s killer.

Louise Apthorpe recalled commenting that evening: “I wonder how the murderer must be feeling… If it was me, I wouldn’t be able to sleep”.

Sarah Maddock, who was sitting next to Tabak that night, also remembered how they discussed that someone other than the culprit must have known about it, that the offender’s partner must have noted strange behaviour.

“I remember Vincent agreed,” said Ms Maddock.

“And then he said: ‘Either that – or someone would have to be a totally detached crazy person to be able to act normally after doing something like that.'”

According to those present, he didn’t appear at all uncomfortable or anxious that evening as they discussed what the prosecution has previously called “his terrible secret”. At one point he was said to have even made a light hearted remark about opening a drawer during a police search so that they could look for a body.

Vincent Tabak, who admits manslaughter but denies murder, made notes throughout this morning’s evidence session.

Joanna Yeates’s parents sat a few metres away, listening quietly.