Ex-boyfriend of alleged murder victim tried to reconcile in week before her death

Wednesday 06 March 2019

The ex-boyfriend of a woman who was allegedly murdered by her secret lover, was trying to get their relationship started again in the week before her body was found on a beach, the Royal Court has heard.

The testimony came from a man Zsuzsanna Besenyei (37) met on a dating app in 2011 - and subsequently dated over a number of years before the pair abruptly split years later - on day three of the trial of Jamie Lee Warn (55), who denies killing her.

Yesterday, jurors were told by the prosecution that Mr Warn was having a covert sexual relationship with Miss Besenyei. They further alleged that he killed her, before hiding her body in the boot of her car for three days in First Tower car park before dumping her on a beach at low tide.  

The case continued this morning, with witnesses called to the stand to shed light on Miss Besenyei’s final days.

Pictured: Jamie Lee Warn entering Court on a previous occasion.

Among those answering questions from Crown Advocate Simon Thomas was Miss Besenyei’s ex-boyfriend, who described their relationship as “up and down”. “It had its highs and it had its lows… the highs were extremely high, but the lows were very low," he explained.

The Court heard that the former couple met through online dating eight years ago shortly before Miss Besenyei moved over to Jersey.

Later on in their relationship, the pair tried living together but the man recalled that he “came home one day and everything was gone”, as Miss Besenyei had “taken her clothes and her furniture” and moved out of his home address without explanation. 

Asked why he started messaging Miss Besenyei again during the week of her disappearance last year, the man said he was “trying to reconcile and build bridges; trying to get the relationship going again.”

Pictured: Zsuzanna Besenyei's ex-boyfriend gave evidence before the Royal Court.

He described his ex as “quite insecure”, adding: “She was worried I was doing something behind her back, which I wasn’t.”

In a series of emails read to the court, the man persistently asked about the status of their relationship, to which Miss Besenyei said that they can “give it a last try”. Minutes later, she wrote: “Do not ever contact me again. I’m done with you forever.” 

Her ex-partner told the jury this wasn’t unusual: “She tended to do that regularly, she changed her mind within minutes.”

The pair continued to email sporadically from 6 to 12 May, but the man said that he had no reason to think his girlfriend of seven years was no longer alive at any point during the conversation.

“It wasn’t uncommon for her to not reply straight away… She told me from the start she liked to be chased so I was chasing,” he told the Court. 

Pictured: The prosecution alleged that Miss Besenyei's body was hidden in her car boot for three days before being dumped at L'Etacq.

Later on in the day, Miss Besenyei's ex-boyfriend told the Court how Police officers had come to his place of work on 13 May to inform him that she had been reported missing, but he remembers "not thinking much of it really", speculating that "she might have been at a friend's house [or]... have run out of petrol."

The Court heard that the man had sent Miss Besenyei an email telling her that Police had come to his work and saying "are you okay? People are worried about your welfare including me."

Recalling Police informing him that they had found his ex-girlfriend's body, the man became visibly emotional on the stand, saying that on hearing the news he was "very, very upset... inconsolable really."

Crown Advocate Thomas asked him about screenshots on his phone of the area where Miss Besenyei's body was recovered, to which the man responded: "I didn't know where it was so I had a google search to find out... it's not uncommon for me to screenshot things. I was in shock and disbelief about what happened."

The Court also heard that the man had downloaded news reports about Miss Besenyei's death and disappearance, as well as saving pictures of the defendant, Mr Warn. On this, the man said: "When the name was released... I wanted to see who he was, what he looked like. So, I done a search on Facebook."

Pictured: The alleged murder trial is being heard in the Royal Court.

Earlier in the day, the jury heard from a hair stylist and a beauty therapist who testified that Miss Besenyei did not show up for appointments she had booked for Friday 11 May - the day after she was murdered, according to the prosecution.

The tenant of a property Miss Besenyei subletted for a period of time told the Court he had texted her on Sunday 12 May to tell her she was late on her rent and he received a reply where she had apologised for the late payment and then signed it off with "sorry again."

Mr Lucas said that the message's overly apologetic tone “didn’t sound like her at all” and that “it just seemed odd”.

The prosecution also called the Supervisor at the First Tower Checkers Express store, who described Mr Warn as a "regular customer" at the shop.

The Court was played CCTV footage which showed a man the prosecution say is Mr Warn that matches up with till records showing the purchase of Carex hand sanitiser and cigarettes on 10 May and five parking pay cards the following day.

Representing Mr Warn, Defence Advocate James Bell emphasised that none of these witnesses knew anything about how Miss Besenyei died and therefore cannot help the Court as to how she came by her death. 

The Court was also shown CCTV footage showing a man who appears to be driving Miss Besenyei's car, parking it in First Tower car park, making trips into Checkers Express and then into the HSBC branch on Halkett Street on the day which the prosecution allege the hotel worker was killed (10 May) and the following day.

The case continues.