Natalie Harker: Man 'lay in wait for ex-girlfriend before murder'

A man lay in wait for his ex-girlfriend in a woodland tent before kidnapping and murdering her, a court heard.

Andrew Pearson knew Natalie Harker was "a creature of habit" and would pass his hideout on her way to work, Teesside Crown Court heard.

She was found dead in woods in Brough with St Giles, near Catterick, North Yorkshire, on 9 October 2019.

Mr Pearson, 45, from Catterick Garrison, denies murder and kidnap.

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Alistair MacDonald QC, prosecuting, said Ms Harker, 30, left her parents' home in Colburn before dawn on 9 October to cycle to her work at a health centre.

Mr MacDonald said: "It's the prosecution case that the defendant lay in wait for Natalie. He put his tent in a place she would pass on her bicycle, or nearby.

"He knew perfectly well she was a creature of habit."

The court heard a 999 call was made about 12 hours after Ms Harker had been injured.

Mr Pearson, of Chestnut Court, said he had been camping for a few days to "chill out" and had gone for a walk with Ms Harker when she fell into a stream.

He dragged her out of the water, took her to his tent and stripped her and attempted to perform first aid, but then passed out, the court heard.

When he woke up several hours later he found her foaming at the mouth.

Mr MacDonald said: "He sought no help for Natalie for many, many hours and his story of having just passed out was simply not true.

"The injuries she suffered and her death were anything but natural.

"They were caused, we say, by this defendant who applied pressure to her neck and prevented her from raising her head and immersing it in water."

When police analysed the defendant's phone a deleted message to a friend in the United States was found, Mr MacDonald said.

It said: "Goodbye, I have killed Natalie, I'm going to hand myself in."

The call was made about 90 minutes before the 999 call, the court heard.

"At the time it was sent the defendant must have been conscious and able to think straight; that is quite contrary to the assertion he made in the 999 call that he had passed out," the prosecutor told the jury.

Ms Harker had a relationship with Mr Pearson which she had ended a few weeks before her death, the jury was told.

The court heard she disliked dirt and insects and would not have gone walking in woods in the dark before work.

Mr MacDonald said Ms Harker had told a friend she was "being pestered by her former boyfriend".

She died as a result of neck injuries and her nose and mouth had been under water, a pathologist said.

The court also heard there was no evidence of a brain injury consistent with her having fallen into the stream.

The trial continues.

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