Man murdered his partner and hid her body after wrongly thinking she was cheating on him

A man is accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend in the eye and heart after becoming convinced she was having an affair with with her brother-in-law, a court heard.

Jaici Alfenas Rocha, 37, who is originally from Brazil, is alleged to have stabbed Karina Guimaraes Batista to death at their home in Easton, Bristol, before concealing her body under some bedding on February 13 last year.

Rocha is said to have attacked common law wife Karina with such ferocity that he nearly severed her spinal cord, Bristol Crown Court was told.

Bristol Crown Court heard that Rocha, a food delivery driver who also worked at a car wash, was convinced Karina, 40, was cheating on him with her sister's husband and even claimed to have a recording of her with the secret lover.

The couple came to the UK in 2016, because Karina's sister already lived here, and moved into the rented property. But, the court heard, she soon became frightened of the defendant and moved out for period of time before returning to Rocha.

The doctor recorded there was a 'palpable tension' between the couple and, that day, made an urgent referral about Rocha to a mental health team for February 6, where he was assessed.

Bristol Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of a night in February last year when Rocha was out on a motorcycle, heading home after food deliveries, followed by Karina driving a red Peugeot car.

They drove down several roads before reaching their home, where Rocha launched the alleged attack.
Karina was stabbed in her face and neck through the bedding on a mattress, the court heard, and her body was then concealed.

Karina was allegedly stabbed in her face and neck through the bedding on a mattress, the court heard, and her body was concealed.

Paul Dunkels QC, prosecuting, said Rocha 'had no settled plan' after he attacked Karina and assured the jury that they would not see 'unsettling images' of the alleged murder victim.

A black triangle blanked out the top half of Karina who was lying on her back on a mattress on the floor - in a crime scene photo shown to the court.

Blood can be seen on photos of the walls surrounding the mattress.

Rocha then used Karina's phone to WhatsApp a relative in Brazil after the incident, writing 'Answer, it is urgent', the jury was told.

The jury was also shown CCTV capturing Rocha's early morning car journey. He left the property at 1.47am and withdrew £250 from Karina's bank account, before driving off in her red Peugeot for several hours before attempting to visit a friend.

 The Bristol Post reports that shortly before 6.30am Rocha drove to a mental health facility, where he had previously had a mental health consultation, and remained in the car park for two hours.

When he eventually walked into the health centre a nurse found him crying, shaking and foaming at the mouth, apparently saying in Portuguese 'Dead' and 'I have'.
Police were alerted to the incident and visited his flat, where they found Karina's body.