28 February 2024 , 23:09
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A 'horse whisperer' accused of stabbing her husband to death broke down and cried in court when she discovered that her pet dogs had attacked each other.
Christine Rawle, 69, is alleged to have fatally stabbed her husband Ian, 72, in the back with a kitchen knife before waiting 20 minutes to call 999. Her daughter Chiez Bufton was asked about the dogs at Exeter Crown Court on Wednesday and told her mother's barrister: "I cannot say because it's upsetting."
The court then heard the dogs attacked each other in the house after Miss Bufton claimed she was denied access to the property. It was not made clear whether the dogs died or not. But Rawle then cried out from the dock: "No one told me. Not my dogs. My doggies." Miss Bufton then angrily retorted: "That's why I did not want to say." The judge halted proceedings for several minutes for Rawle to compose herself.
Giving evidence, 47-year-old Miss Bufton said her mother Christine was on the phone to her seconds after the attack and was 'frantic', saying: "I loved him, I loved him." She said on the day of the attack, her mother had been talking about getting divorced from her stepfather Ian and leaving him. Chiez told Exeter Crown Court that her mother was 'very unwell' and frustrated about 72-year-old Ian, because he 'would say things and then go back on his word'.
Rawle, shown here in a court artist sketch, was told during the trial that her dogs had attacked each other (PA) In phone calls to her on that day in August 2022, Chiez said her mother was 'just venting' and at the time of the incident she said: "They were arguing. I have heard it before. I have heard them argue back and forwards before. It was not that unusual."
The jury was told that Rawle stabbed her husband between the shoulder blades with a large sharp knife while he pushed a wheelbarrow of horse manure to a dung heap. She had been cutting string with a knife to tie up some gates.
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Chiez said her mother rang her and asked for her help, screaming 'help me, help me'. She added: "The next time she spoke she said she had stabbed him and I was frantically trying to call the police. I did not know why but she was asking for help, she was desperate and screaming for help, a blood curdling scream. I was worried for her. She was hysterical, shocked and had not intended to do it."
She is alleged to have fatally stabbed her 72-year-old husband Ian in the back (Facebook)Under cross examination by Clare Wade, KC, defending Rawle, Chiez said she was 'perplexed' about the 'bickering' phone call which preced that led to the killing. "There are so many layers of a relationship over 30 years," she said.
Mother-of-three Rawle, who is registered disabled, lived at their isolated bungalow home Kittywell Woods, at Knowle, North Devon - but Chiez said Ian imposed rules. She referred to incidents when Christine's car tyres were slashed, the battery was flat and sugar was put in the petrol tank, and said: "It happened a lot." The jury was also told that Rawle put a hosepipe through the sunroof of his car, and filled it with water.
Chiez said her mother suffered with her mental health as well as physical health, and recalled her mother trying to commit suicide on several occasions. She said her mum was 'vivacious with a love of life', was known locally as the 'horse whisperer' because of the soft way she would treat horses that were brought to her. Rawle denies murder and her trial continues.