Father ‘threw £1,000 imitation Faberge egg at wife and killed her after she confessed to affair’

A father accused of murdering his partner says he killed her by throwing an imitation Faberge egg at her after she told him she had been with another man.

Paul Hemming, 43, said his wife Natalie (both pictured above), 31, died after he threw the £1,000 egg at her when she confessed to an affair.

He admitted manslaughter but denied murder at the start of his trial at Luton Crown Court.

Mrs Hemming was found dead in woodland near Chandlers Cross, Hertfordshire, on May 22. She was last seen alive in Hemel Hempstead on May 1.

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The couple met in 2007 and had two children. Mrs Hemming also had a daughter from a previous relationship.

The court heard the pair separated briefly in 2010 and 2013, and that there had been two “incidents” involving police, including one when Hemming allegedly struck his wife over the head with a bottle.

Hemming told the court they had argued about splitting up in the week before her death.

On April 30, Mrs Hemming stayed in a hotel with her colleague Simon Dennis and the couple had sex for the first time, the court heard.

The couple’s home in Milton Keynes (Picture: SWNS)

Hemming said he sensed something was wrong when she returned home the following afternoon.

He waited until their three children were in bed before challenging her about the affair, he said.

When the argument escalated, Hemming tried to stop her going upstairs because he “didn’t want her to take the children”, the court heard.

He told the jury that he threw the heavy egg, made of jade, at her head, causing her to fall into a coffee table at their home in Newton Leys in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Mrs Hemming’s colleague, Simon Dennis, outside court (Picture: SWNS)

The court heard Hemming went outside and removed the car seats from their car so Mrs Hemming could not drive away with their children.

When he returned, he found her still on the floor and not breathing.

He told the court: “I couldn’t believe I had done it. I just thought… I’m in trouble.

“How am I going to explain it to the kids upstairs? So then I thought I am going to cover this up.”

When asked why, he said: “Because I knew I had killed her.”

The court heard that Hemming carried her body to the car while their three children were asleep upstairs.

After driving her remains to a wooded area 30 miles away near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, he stripped her body and left her naked in undergrowth.

A stock photo of a Faberge egg (Picture: SWNS)

Hemming said he hadn’t intended to kill his wife when he threw the imitation Faberge egg.

“I have no idea what was in my mind,” he told the court.

Hemming has also pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body and of obstructing a coroner in the execution of his duty.

The trial continues.

(Main pictures: SWNS)