Soldier 'Does Not Remember Stabbing Girlfriend To Death'

A soldier has told a court he does not remember stabbing his girlfriend 11 times in the chest and neck, and that he had no idea where the knife came from.

Jay Nava, a serving soldier with 29 Commando based at the Royal Citadel Plymouth, is on trial accused of murdering his girlfriend, Natasha Wake.

The jury was told that at the time of the attack Mr Nava was suffering 'an abnormality in mental function'.

Winchester Crown Court heard that a psychiatrist was told that Nava's memory of the attack was "all a blur".

The court also heard from Dr Paul Warren, the psychiatrist for the defence, who said that Mr Nava slept next to the body for some time.

Mr Nava also told Dr Warren that he hid Miss Wake's body in a cupboard and cleaned the walls, so he could get children out of the house without them seeing their mother's body. 

The soldier had been drinking at Natasha Wake's home at the beginning of October last year.

Following an argument, Miss Wake threatened to call the police and then bit Mr Nava.

The court was told that the next thing Mr Nava remembered was kneeling over his girlfriend's dead body.

Defending counsel Peter Griffiths told the court that the soldier had stabbed Miss Wake, but that he had an underlying personality disorder.

Mr Nava was found trying to take his own life by police.

The trial continues.