Murder trial hears chaplain describe ‘shock admission’

Vincent Tabak was on suicide watch in prison when he is said to have told the Salvation Army chaplain Peter Brotherton of his plan to plead guilty in court.

“I have got something to tell you that is going to shock you,” Tabak is reported to have said.

He then reacted angrily as Mr Brotherton told him he would not be able to keep the admission secret, the chaplain said.

Jurors at Bristol Crown Court were yesterday told Tabak refused to tell police whether he had made any sexual advances towards Miss Yeates. Detectives questioned the 33-year-old Dutch engineer for three consecutive days after arresting him on January 20.

He was said to have constantly replied “no comment”, before finally being charged with murdering Miss Yeates, 25.

But Tabak, who had been under 24-hour supervision at HMP Long Lartin, was said to have told Mr Brotherton of his plan to “plead guilty” on February 8.

Appearing in the witness box, Mr Brotherton said he decided he could not keep the information secret because Tabak was not religious. Mr Brotherton, who has been visiting prisoners since 1975, said “there was a little bit of anger” in Tabak’s voice after the chaplain said he would have to pass the information on to police.

“I’m not going to tell you anything else,” Tabak was said to have told Mr Brotherton.

Earlier, Miss Yeates’s mother Teresa had wept as a picture of her daughter’s body was shown to the jury.

The image was shown during the evidence of forensic scientists who examined bloodstains found on a wall next to where Miss Yeates was found on Christmas morning on Longwood Lane, in Failand, North Somerset. They also studied DNA samples taken from Miss Yeates’s body, her clothes and from the boot of Tabak’s Renault Megane car.

Tests showed that DNA almost certain to be Tabak’s was found on her body and on her jeans, and that DNA almost certain to belong to Miss Yeates was found in the boot of his car, the jury heard.

Miss Yeates is said to have suffered 43 injuries at the hands of Tabak at her flat in upmarket Clifton on December 17 last year.

The prosecution case is expected to finish today. Tabak has admitted a charge of manslaughter, but denies murdering Miss Yeates.