Kidderminster murder accused husband: We were perfect family
A husband repeatedly wiped tears from his eyes as he told a jury he still loved the wife he is accused of murdering with all his heart.
"We were the perfect little family," Alan Evans told a court this afternoon.
But Evans also said he had never stopped loving Amanda Chadwick, the woman with whom he had been having an affair.
The 35-year-old, of Stoney Lane, Kidderminster, told the jury he had never been violent towards his wife Louise, his childhood sweetheart, whom he had married 12 years earlier.
The prosecution claims he threw 32-year-old Louise Evans down stairs at their home and smothered her to death, leaving a skipping rope near her body, to make it look accidental on July 10 last year.
Evans, who denies murder, took the stand at Worcester Crown Court at the start of his defence and when asked if he killed his wife, replied: "No, I did not."
When questioned about how much he loved Louise, wiping tears from his eyes, he replied: "To the same extent that I do to this day - with all my heart.
"Louise was beautiful. She was outgoing, friendly and kind. Louise was my best friend. Louise would do anything for anybody and never had any enemies."
He told how he and Louise had trouble conceiving and had five attempts at IVF before the first of their three children was conceived.
Evans also described himself as a 'brilliant dad', helping to bathe and get the children ready for bed and sharing work around the house.
He said he and Louise had arguments, but no more than any other couple. He said he had never been violent towards her.
Evans also claims he 'never lifted a finger' against his wife and did nothing to contribute to her death.
He said that on the night she died, he and Louise were 'happy', watched TV and cuddled.
They were planning to re-build their marriage to be 'bigger and better' than before he started his affair with Ms Chadwick, a teaching assistant at their children's school, St Mary's CE Primary School in Kidderminster.
The court has heard that he and Ms Chadwick exchanged a total of nearly 12,000 text messages between March and July 2012.
"I made a mistake," said Evans. "I had had an affair and that's something I cannot change."
He broke down again as he said that he and Louise were going to make 'all our dreams Evans added: "I've never stopped loving Mandy. I was open and honest about that. She's a come true' and planned to have a bed and breakfast business by the coast.
"I was going to make her happy," he added.
"I loved Amanda but not as much as my wife."
The trial continues.
