AN ‘angry, jealous and violent’ man who is said to have stabbed his girlfriend in her buttock has denied raping her on Christmas Day.
Diamond Beqiri is on trial at Oxford Crown Court faced with several charges of abuse against his former partner.
The 23-year-old has admitted to some charges against the woman, including using controlling and coercive behaviour against her, but has denied six others of unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, rape, common assault, non-fatal strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
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“He was angry, he was jealous, and he was violent,” said prosecutor Tim Forster, opening the trial to a twelve-strong jury on Tuesday (January 2).
“This case involves a relationship between two young people, a pretty toxic one. A relationship the Crown will suggest was not only violent but controlling and coercive.”
He told the jury the pair met in Oxford and started a relationship but that the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, quickly noticed ‘some signs'.
Beqiri, of Cranley Road, Headington, would demand to look at her phone and on one occasion when she refused, he threatened to crash the car they were both in.
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“She’s perfectly entitled to receive messages from whomever she likes,” said Mr Forster.
“He saw it as a threat. He then became physically abusive and started to assault her on a regular basis – pulling her hair and slapping her during arguments.
“He was also obsessively texting her and wanting to know where she was. During this period of their relationship, she couldn’t even leave to go the shops without him and that’s how they spent their first summer together.”
On one occasion, when the pair were taking a break, Beqiri stabbed the woman in the right buttock after becoming upset that she was speaking to another man.
“Unhelpfully, that man got in contact with Mr Beqiri and said he was her [new] boyfriend and it made Mr Beqiri angry.”
Beqiri picked the woman up in Cowley Road and began ‘shouting, spitting and swearing’. While the woman ‘curled herself’ away, Beqiri stabbed her with an alleged 12-inch knife.
He drove her around before eventually buying bandages and helping her dress the wound.
Beqiri admits to ‘reckless wounding’ but denies intending to cause her grievous bodily harm.
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It is alleged that Beqiri then raped the woman on Christmas Day, followed by allegedly assaulting and strangling her in the following weeks.
Beqiri is also alleged to have left her a voicemail telling her to drop the rape allegations – leading to his sixth charge.
The trial continues.
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