Woman’s Death Linked to Husband’s Abuse, Court Told
A woman died by suicide after enduring a prolonged period of "physical and sexual violence" from her husband, a court has been informed.
Tarryn Baird, aged 34, was discovered hanged at her residence in Swindon, Wiltshire, on 28 November 2017. She had left a note for her family stating:
I am so sorry but I just couldn’t take it any more.
Christopher Trybus, 43, faces charges including the manslaughter of his wife, two counts of rape, and coercive and controlling behaviour. He denies all allegations.
Opening the trial at Winchester crown court on Tuesday, prosecutors described how Trybus’s conduct towards Baird intensified during the two years preceding her death. It is alleged that he raped her twice in late 2016.
Diary Entries Reveal Escalation of Abuse
The jury was presented with entries from Baird’s diary, which indicate a shift in her relationship with Trybus, whom she married in 2009. The couple had relocated to the UK from South Africa two years prior.
One diary entry read:
One night, during sex, I felt his hands around my neck. Something was unleashed that night. Progressively, sex got rougher. The more I fight back, the more he enjoys it.
She further noted this was "a side" of her husband "that has been hidden all these years."
It is alleged one of the rapes occurred following a dispute over whether Trybus would pay school fees for Baird’s cousin.
Details of Abuse and Control
Prosecutor Tom Little KC stated that Trybus attempted to strangle Baird before forcing himself on her.
The court heard that Trybus installed an application on Baird’s mobile phone to track her location. On one occasion, he questioned the duration of her visit to a GP surgery.
Baird attended her doctor multiple times in the months before her death, eventually disclosing that Trybus had been violent towards her.
In October 2016, she reported to her doctor and a domestic abuse charity that her husband had tied a rope around her neck. Little emphasized:
We ask you not to lose sight in this case of how she would eventually take her own life by hanging.
In November 2016, Baird informed her doctor that she had attempted to leave Trybus but was struck with a metal pole by him.
The court was told Baird did not "know how many more beatings she could take" but was "scared to leave."
Plans to Escape and Threats
Baird made "detailed plans" to flee to a women’s refuge weeks later, but these were thwarted when Trybus, a software developer, returned early from a business trip.
Trybus allegedly threatened to inform Baird’s parents that she was addicted to drugs and alcohol, which he claimed would prevent them from believing her accounts of domestic abuse.
Little summarized the prosecution’s case:
It was the control and physical violence meted out to her, including sexual violence and the threat of and fear of physical and sexual violence on his part towards her and over time, which led to a deterioration in her already weakened mental state and was, we say, a cause of her deciding that she should take her own life.
The trial, presided over by Judge Linden, is ongoing and is expected to last seven weeks.
