By Lucy Marks.
The mother of a woman allegedly killed by her partner saw blood on the curtains and her daughter lying on the ground, the Supreme Court in Darwin has heard.
Kirsty Ashley, 35, was found stabbed to death at her brother’s Alice Springs home on May 15, 2012, less than a month after she moved in after leaving her partner of 16 years, Darren Ashley.
Ashley has pleaded not guilty to her murder.
Ms Ashley’s brother Iain Steadman told the court his distraught mother called him after going to his house, looking through the window and seeing his sister’s body.
“She said that she was at my house and worried Kirsty was hurt,” Mr Steadman said.
“She said she could see blood on the curtains and Kirsty was lying on the ground.”
Mr Steadman said by the time he arrived home his mother was inside, “hysterical and screaming and stressed out” while speaking to paramedics on the phone.
“And you could see your sister on the floor?” Prosecutor David Morters asked.
“Yes I could,” Mr Steadman replied.
He also testified his sister was afraid of seeing her former partner after leaving him.
He said on the day before she was killed, she arrived home but “continued driving because she didn’t feel safe stopping” because Ashley was there.
Ashley’s car had a distinctive engine sound, Mr Steadman said, and he recognised the sound of the car driving past his home two to three times a night for a week.
He said his sister was “very, very upset and worried” on another occasion after she had gone to collect some of her things.
“Darren happened to be there and got very angry and attacked her and tried to choke her,” he said.
The trial continues.
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
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