Teenage mother murdered by her boyfriend in Llanelli

A young mother was murdered by her ‘jealous and possessive’ boyfriend in front of her toddler daughter after he found out she had kissed another man, a court heard.

Katrina Evemy died in hospital without regaining consciousness six days after the attack at her home in Llanelli, South Wales on April 13, Swansea Crown Court heard.

The 19-year-old’s on-off boyfriend Dylan Harries has gone on trial accused of murdering Miss Evemy in an attack that left her 22-year-old daughter covered in blood.

The court heard 22-year-old Harries, who denies murder, went to Miss Evemy’s house at around 5pm carrying a knife which he had taken from his own home about two miles away.

He had just found out she had kissed another man, the court was told. 

Patrick Harrington QC, for the prosecution, said Harries could be seen on the CCTV ‘adjusting the knife’ in his hand as he walked to her house.

‘He arrived at the home of his sometime girlfriend Katrina Evemy,’ said Mr Harrington.

A court heard ‘jealous and possessive’ Harries (left) found out Ms Evemy (right) had kissed another man before going to her home with a knife and stabbing her multiple times

It is alleged Ms Evemy was murdered in front of her 22-month-old daughter. Ms Evemy died six days after the attack in hospital having failed to regain consciousness 

‘He went into the house and inflicted appalling injuries on her by stabbing her repeatedly with the knife he had taken from his home.

‘A gravely aggravating feature of this case is that the attack was in the presence of the victim’s young daughter, who herself became covered in her mother’s blood.’

Mr Harrington said Harries also bit Miss Evemy on the arm during the attack, leaving marks on her arm through her clothing and DNA on her clothes.

The court heard Harries, of Panteg, Felinfoel, Llanelli, stayed in the house for 40 to 45 minutes without contacting the emergency services before raising the alarm with neighbours and claiming Miss Evemy had been attacked before he arrived.

Mr Harrington said of the defendant: ‘He still maintains a pretence that he was not responsible for her injuries but that he had happened upon her lying dying on the kitchen floor having been attacked by some unknown person.

‘This is all a lie, he was the person responsible for the attack upon Katrina.’

The court heard Mr Evemy’s daughter was covered in blood during the attack in Llanelli, South Wales

Dylan Harries, 22, denies murdering his girlfriend and says an unknown assailant is responsible for the attack

Jurors were told Miss Evemy died in hospital on April 19 without regaining consciousness, despite the efforts of medical staff and the emergency services.

Mr Harrington, who described Harries as ‘by nature, possessive and jealous’, said the defendant found out on the day of the attack Miss Evemy had shared a ‘pretty innocent’ kiss with another man a few weeks previously while in a nightclub.

The jury heard how Harries found the number of the man who Miss Evemy had kissed in her phone and started to send messages to him pretending to be her until the other man said they had kissed.

Then Harries sent a message saying: ‘Strange this is her boyfriend and she denied it.’

Mr Harrington said the other man’s response – ‘haha well I ain’t got f*** all to lie for have I and this problem is between you and her isn’t it’ – was sent at ‘almost exactly the time’ Harries left his house to go to Miss Evemy’s home.

Miss Evemy had also sent a message to Harries just after 4pm which said: ‘Maybe it is better if we break up.’

Mr Harrington said the phone evidence, which included other messages between the two men and between Miss Evemy and Harries, who worked at DR Taxis in Llanelli, were ‘evidence of what led the defendant to embark on this savage attack’.