An ‘obsessively jealous’ father stabbed his love

An ‘obsessively jealous’ father stabbed his love rival to death
just seconds after being told the woman they fought over was pregnant,
the Old Bailey heard.

Christopher Hodder, 28, lashed out with a knife in a sustained
attack that left ‘shy, self-effacing and quiet’ Peter Smyth dying in a
pool of his own blood, the jury was told.

The woman in the middle of the argument, Elaine Tansley, 25, and
her children were helpless to stop the brawl outside her Plaistow home.

Hodder denies murder.

Mr John Bevan, prosecuting, said Hodder and Miss Tansley had first
met in 1981 when she was 14 and he was 18.

Their sons Christopher and Sean were born in 1984 and 1987.

‘By this time the relationship had deteriorated and there were a
number of incidents in which she suffered at his hand and in 1989
she asked him to move out.

‘
In 1990 she struck up a new relationship with ‘shy, self-effacing
and quiet’ Irishman Peter Smyth, who was known to all as ‘PJ’.

‘She kept it secret from Hodder, obviously realising what his
reaction would be.

‘Hodder regarded her as his property and although he had affairs of
his own, he was extremely obsessive of her.

‘
Late that year, Hodder took a bottle of pills, claiming it would be
her fault if he died.

Weeks later he threatened her with a knife and headbutted her.

She
had to go to hospital and was later rehoused after complaining to the
domestic violence unit at Plaistow police station.

At a later meeting to see their children, he used the knife to
threaten ‘PJ’, counsel said.

‘They were rehoused in Boundary Road, Plaistow, in March last year
and a reasonable state of affairs existed until October.

‘On October 4 he saw her in the street and abused her, calling her
names.

‘
Matters came to a head four days later when he took Sean for the
day, promising to drop him at play group at lunchtime but instead
kept him until 6pm.

During the day, Sean innocently called Hodder ‘PJ’ by mistake,
counsel said.

‘That may have upset a jealous and obsessive father.

‘The crown’s case is that he was quite prepared for trouble
and he took with him that knife.

‘
Expecting trouble, ‘PJ’ may have armed himself with a bunch of keys
or a roll of coins to use if there was a punch-up, Mr Bevan said.

‘At that time, she believed she was pregnant.

‘Hodder had warned her before if she got pregnant there would be
trouble and ‘PJ’ would be aware of that.

Mr Bevan continued: ‘When Hodder dropped Sean off, ‘PJ’ and
Elaine went to the car and broke the news to him.

‘Hodder got out of the car, calling her a f***ing slag.

‘PJ’ tried to
protect her and was attacked by him.

‘The children, no doubt terrified, ran off.

Elaine ran off
screaming to call the police.

‘
The only witness to what happened next was Hodder’s best friend
Steve Palmer, who had driven him to Boundary Road.

Mr Bevan said the jury would have ‘to consider very carefully’ Mr
Palmer’s claim that ‘PJ’ had been the one to challenge Hodder to a fight
and that it was ‘PJ’ who produced the knife.

In the fight that followed, PJ was stabbed seven times, including a
fatal wound to the heart and five serious slashes to his head.

Hodder then jumped in Palmer’s car and sped off.

‘PJ’ collapsed on the pavement.

Despite desperate emergency surgery,
he could not be revived.

Hodder, of Anne Street, Plaistow, gave himself up to the police the
following day.

Quizzed about the killing, he exercised his right to silence.

He later gave detectives a written statement claiming ‘PJ’ had gone
at him with a knife, which he had managed to kick out of his hand.

During a desperate struggle which followed, he grabbed the knife
and lashed out to protect himself.

Mr Bevan said although ‘PJ’ had been given a suspended sentence in
Ireland for having a knife with intent to rape in 1985, Hodder’s claim
that ‘PJ’ had a knife on October 8 was ‘clearly untrue.

‘
The trial continues.

ENDS