THE last day in the life of Lee Harvey, 25, was largely spent in bitter argument with his girlfriend, Tracie Andrews, who is accused of murdering him, Birmingham Crown Court was told yesterday.
An upstairs neighbour of the couple, who lived together intermittently, said she heard raised voices echoing through the walls and ceilings of their block of flats during Sunday lunch and well into the afternoon of Dec 1 last year.
Andrews, 28, denies murder and says Mr Harvey, 25, was stabbed by an unknown man in a roadside altercation.
Shirley Peters, who lives above Andrews's flat in Alvechurch, Hereford and Worcester, told the court prolonged rowing between Andrews and Mr Harvey was fairly common. Sometimes it was so loud, and the insulation so poor, she could even make out what they were arguing about. Mrs Peters's boyfriend, Jason Haycock, said that, on occasions, he had turned up the television volume to drown out the noise when Andrews and Mr Harvey were arguing.
Slamming doors, sounds of breakages and foul-mouthed language from both participants occurred up to three times a week and sometimes went on for two hours or more, often restarting after a lull. It was the same on the day of the murder, Mrs Peters said.
That evening, about two hours before the stabbing, Andrews and Mr Harvey were seen by an acquaintance in The Marlbrook, a pub in Bromsgrove. Stewart Johnstone, a casual acquaintance of Andrews, said the bar was doing well because it was quiz night, but Andrews and Mr Harvey sat alone looking “moody, stern-faced and sullen”.
Earlier, a number of policemen gave evidence of being called to intervene in previous disputes between the couple. Once, Andrews told a policeman that Mr Harvey was a jealous man and had followed her occasionally when she went with girlfriends to a nightclub, which irritated her.
On Oct 25, 1996, five weeks before the murder, police went to Andrews's flat after a telephone call and found the couple locked in a row. Mr Harvey seemed calm but Andrews was “in quite a worked-up state, a bit of a panic” and wanted him evicted. Mr Harvey eventually packed and left the flat in a hostile climate.
The trial continues.