Wolverhampton murder-accused husband 'frantic after wife's death'
A businessman accused of strangling his seamstress wife and faking a botched burglary had "scratches" on his hands when paramedics arrived at his home, jurors have heard.
Gurpreet Singh was spotted with the marks when emergency services rushed to the family's Wolverhampton house, discovering Sarbjit Kaur's lifeless body.
But paramedic Harley Moseley said Singh had claimed he was left with the injuries after "messing with some timber".
Giving evidence on Wednesday, she added: "He had some scratches on his hands.
"They did not look like they were fresh wounds. There was no blood, they had scabbed over."
Prosecutors allege Singh murdered second wife Mrs Kaur, with the help of an unknown accomplice, in their Rookery Lane home on February 16 last year.
The 43-year-old allegedly strangled his wife between 8.15am and 9am after dropping his children at school and before leaving for work.
Ms Moseley recalled finding Mrs Kaur's body in the converted garage, which looked "in disarray".
The West Midlands Ambulance Service employee added: "She was just behind the door, laid on the floor.
"Her feet were facing the end of the house and her hands on her body, on her waist. Her face was discoloured."
The paramedic told jurors Singh appeared "frantic" as his wife lay dead on the floor, with police forced to ask him to back away.
Singh, also known as Sonny, then became "angry and upset", lunging forward to grasp his wife's body, she said.
The witness added: "He was quite frantic. He was at the bottom of her feet asking if she was dead.
"I just reassured him that we were doing everything we could to help her. He was just a bit aggravated.
"He did try to hug the body a couple of times and the police did tell him to step back.
"He lunged forward and draped himself over her [when she was pronounced dead].
"He laid back on the floor, with his hands on his head, moaning incoherently."
Ms Moseley went on to tell the court she stepped in an "orange powder" scattered on the floor as colleagues pronounced Mrs Kaur dead.
A "clump of long, dark hair" was also seen on the ground by paramedic Samantha Skidmore, the court heard.
During the trial, jurors were told father-of-two Singh threw chilli powder in his victim’s face to incapacitate her before killing her.
Singh, who is also accused of soliciting the murder of his first wife Amandeep Kaur in 2014, denies all charges.
The trial continues.
