Murder accused ‘said wife was alcoholic to support lies she took her own life’

A hockey coach accused of his wife’s murder portrayed her as an alcoholic as part of a “character assassination” to support his “lies” that she took her own life, a court has heard.

Mohamed Samak, 42, claims he woke up at around 3am on July 1 last year to see his interior designer wife Joanne Samak, 49, stabbing herself at their home in Chestnut Spinney, Droitwich Spa.

Prosecutors allege that Samak, a former Egyptian international hockey player and coach who worked with the Wales under-18s team, killed his wife because he was suffering financial problems and had become interested in another woman.

Worcester Crown Court had also been told of issues within their marriage and that they slept in separate bedrooms, with Samak claiming he missed the “romance” in their relationship.

Samak did not call the emergency services until one hour and 10 minutes after Joanne suffered six stab injuries, including one to her abdomen and a fatal wound to the heart, claiming he was “crying, shivering and panicking” after the incident and did not know what number to call for an ambulance.

He also admitted he did not carry out “proper” CPR on his wife, despite being fully qualified to do so because of his job and his previous role as a lifeguard, and having a first aid kit in his bedroom.

Denying her murder, Samak said his wife had suffered issues with her mental health and alcohol and that she had taken her own life.

During cross-examination on Monday, prosecution KC Harpreet Sandhu told Samak his claims that his wife was an alcoholic were made up to support his “lies” that she had inflicted the wounds upon herself.

He said: “You have tried to portray Jo as someone who had an alcohol problem. The reality is that Jo didn’t have an alcohol problem, she drank socially and there may have been times she had more glasses of wine than allowed her to feel comfortable the next day, but she wasn’t a problem drinker.

“A pathologist told us her liver was basically normal and didn’t have any signs of long-term alcohol abuse. The evidence of her friends is that she enjoyed a drink but wasn’t a drunk.

“You know fully well that Jo did not have any alcohol issues but you have made out she did to support your lying account that she took her own life.

“It is part of a character assassination in an effort to support your lying account about how she died.”

Samak replied: “No, it’s not true, it’s not correct.

“I didn’t say she was an alcoholic but the alcohol raised after Covid and raised more in the last year. I highlighted that and when she got stressed she used to drink.

“When you see bottles on the side and bottles in the fridge. You worry about your wife. I shared (my concerns) with her brother.”

On Friday, Mr Sandhu put it to Samak that he did not call the emergency services after Joanne suffered the stab wounds because he “wanted her to die”.

He said: “Over the hour and 10 minutes during which she was dying, you wanted her to die didn’t you?

“If you didn’t, you would have done something to help her. You wanted her to die when you took that knife and thrust it into her body didn’t you?”

Samak replied: “I did not kill my wife. Jo stabbed herself. That is the truth.”

Mr Sandhu also rubbished claims that Samak did not know what number to call for the emergency services, because he had called 999 months before his wife died to report a car accident he had been involved in on March 17.

The prosecutor said: “The point is this isn’t it – when you said you didn’t know what number to call as you weren’t from the UK, that was nonsense wasn’t it?”

Samak responded: “I never called the ambulance before. I was going through a lot.

“I was in shock, I was panicking. My brain went blinded.

“I didn’t make any call and I know I was wrong, but I was panicking and I didn’t know what to do.

“The question in my head was: ‘Why has she done it, was it because of me?’

“I didn’t know what to do. My brain, it was difficult to think. I was emotional and I was shocked.”

Continuing the cross examination on Monday, Mr Sandhu said Samak was a “deceitful” man.

“You didn’t wake up to find Jo stabbing herself did you?” he said.

Samak said: “I did. I didn’t lie about this. I probably might have lied because I was the only person in the house and thinking I would take the blame for it and I will say that always because that is what happened.”

The trial continues.