Joanna Hall from Tenby was able to name the man who had stabbed her 40 times before she died from her injuries, a jury heard today (Thursday).
Miss Hall, aged 30, survived for 19 days after she was attacked at her home in Cresswell Street in the centre of the town.
Her then boyfriend, Steven Daniel Williams, also 30, of Newell Hill, 25 Marsh Road, Tenby, is on trial at Swansea crown court accused of her murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
Today, the prosecution called the first witness in the case, Miss Hall’s elder sister, HM Revenue and Customs officer Georgina Marwick.
She said that on March 16, 2013, she and her police officer husband Andrew had been in Cardiff to see a rugby match when she received a Facebook message informing her that her sister had been airlifted to the intensive care unit at Swansea’s Morriston Hospital.
Mr and Mrs Marwick drove to the hospital and were allowed to spend about 10 minutes with Miss Hall.
Mrs Marwick told the jury, “She was obviously in a lot of pain but she was lucid and coherent.
“She knew where she was and what had happened.
“The first thing I asked was, ‘who did it?’ “She said it was someone she knew and his name was Steven Williams.
“I asked her ‘why do you get involved with this type of people?’ She said he had been nice to her.
“She said he had come to her flat that night. He had been drinking whisky. They had got into an argument and she had asked him to leave.
“He lost his temper and was trying to rip a radiator off the wall.
“Then, she said, he flipped and got a knife and stabbed her.
“She said she did not want to tell the police who had done it because she was scared. She said he had threatened that if she told anyone what had happened he would come back and finish her off or get someone else to do it.
“I told her she did not need to worry and she should tell the police everything that had happened.”
Mrs Marwick told the jury the conversation was etched on her brain.
“I will never forget it. I have thought about it everyday since. It was one of the last times I spoke to her.”
She added, “She said she had asked him to telephone for help and he had refused.
“She said he told her, ‘you have a choice. You can either take your own life or I will take it for you. I will have to kill you now because I am not going back to prison.
“She said he sat there all night smoking cigarettes. She remembered at one point trying to take a deep breath and he said ‘oh, will you just f***ing die.’
“In the morning he said he was going to a shop and in a sarcastic voice said ‘don’t run off anywhere.’ “She was making a joke out of it, she did not want to upset me. She said the funny thing is my bowel is hanging out.
“It was typical Jo. She said at least she got to ride in a helicopter,” added Mrs Marwick.
Her husband Andrew, a detective in London, said he had been at Miss Hall’s bedside during part of the conversation.
He said that when Miss Hall named Steven Williams he left the room and made a note of what he had heard on his mobile telephone.
“I knew the significance of what she was saying. Her injuries were very serious and it might be the last thing she says,” he added.
Mr and Mrs Marwick confirmed that they had bought Miss Hall the knife the prosecution say was used to kill her.
The trial continues.
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