The man who is accused of the murder of his wife claimed that he accidentally hit her with a knife during an argument over a dessert.
Lee Kendall, 42 killed mother-of-two Michaela Hale at her Cornish home, according to Truro Crown Court.
After rowing over a dinner that Kendall ‘didn’t want’, Ms Hall was stabbed to death in her bedroom on May 31 last year, the jury heard.
Kendall took to the witness stand and admitted that he had stabbed her, however, he denied murdering it. He also claimed that it wasn’t an intentional attack.
According to him, he told the jury that he “jerked” the knife toward Ms. Hall as she was moving towards it. Then, ‘it ended up going into her eye.
The blade was removed by him. He then asked his wife if she was okay before placing the knife in the sink.
Ms. Hall was found dead by her parents, who were concerned after she had not spoken to them.
Kendall, who was formerly a Virgin Airways Senior Air Stewardess, first met Ms Hall while working for a charity to help prisoners once they’re released.
Truro Crown Court heard her break professional boundaries and begin an intimacy sexual relationship as his support worker before he moved in her Mount Hawke, Cornwall home.
Lee Kendall, 42 killed mother-of-two Michaela Hal, in her Cornish home. A Truro Crown Court jury was informed.
Kendall, a witness, said that they were arguing about the sweet and sour food she prepared. She got mad at him for telling her he didn’t want it and then he took it out of the kitchen.
Police interviewed Ms. Hall after her death to find out if she had a small, black-handled knife in her hands.
Kendall claimed that although he couldn’t immediately follow her, he could hear her speaking to someone over the phone.
The call made him feel hurt, angry and sluggish.
He entered the room and found Ms Hall lying on the bottom of the bunk bed.
He stated, “I grabbed her by the throat while she was kick me. And I took my phone.”
He said Michaela managed to grab hold of a cutlery knife that was in the room as it had been used as a screwdriver for some DIY.
Kendall said, “We were both being terrible to one another.”
‘Telling her to: “F**k off. You can leave me alone. What’s wrong with you?”.
“She behaved the same way towards me.” She was screaming at my face. “She thrust the knife in my chest once.”
According to him, he grabbed the blade from Ms. Hall’s left hand and held on while she was holding onto it.
He continued, “As we struggled my hand is jerked from her simultaneously she is coming toward me. It ended up getting in her eye.”
Before he took out the knife, he said that Ms. Hall was standing there after the stabbing and asked her if everything was alright.
She replied to him that she was, but he asked for water. He gave her a glass of water.
He returned to find her lying on the ground on the couch. He said he got her onto the bed and put a pillow under her head before he went out and carried on drinking.
He said that she would be fine if he didn’t call for an ambulance.
Kendall stated that Kendall stabbed his knife with a fork and then took the knife out of the sink to dry it.
Giving evidence, Ms Hall’s friend Clair Basnett said she was on the phone with her when she suddenly heard screams like ‘something out of a horror movie’.
Lee Kendall is a former prisoner and has denied the murder of his lover. He is currently on trial at Truro Crown Court.
Basnett, who lives in Gran Canaria said that she maintained contact via calls and social media with Ms Hall while there.
According to her, she did not answer a call on May 31st 2021 at 10:00 PM but returned a second call at 10.10PM.
She told the jury that Michaela whispered to her.
“I inquired why she whispered. The reason I asked was because she hadn’t been honest with me at that point about Lee being back in the house, which is the reason why I was cross with her.
When I inquired why she whispered, she answered “Lee’s on one.” I really don’t know what to do”.
“At this point I asked her if it was possible to get out the house. Lee was the one who had locked all doors and the keys.
Ms Basnett said that Ms Hall had told her she needed to send photos of him doing to her neck during the last couple days “in case anything happens to her”.
‘She asked me to call the police but she said to me “Don’t call them straight away because I could be in grave danger if you do so”,’ added Ms Basnett.
“I heard Lee come into the room. He was told to get away from her by her. His voice was audible. Michaela was screaming at Lee and telling her to stay back.
“The sound was so loud that you could almost hear him hitting her. She was screaming and he shouting. It was really difficult to understand the noises, but it sounded almost like something out of a horror movie.
She claimed she dialled the emergency services. Crimestoppers was eventually able to reach her and place the 911 call.
According to her, she called Ms. Hall on the next morning and got no response. She also didn’t hear back from her for a Facebook message asking if she was okay.
The jury was shown a clip of an interview with police that Ms Hall received from her father. He said that his daughter and her mother had visited her home because they were concerned she would not hear from them.
The keys were needed to access the property. They found the daughter asleep on her bed, with blood all over the pillows. Her father stated that her body was very cold.
Kendall denied the murder of his wife and continues to face trial.