Man accused of wife’s murder kissed another woman because he ‘missed romance’
Mohamed Samak, 42, denies murdering his wife Joanne, claiming her six stab wounds were self-inflicted.
A hockey coach accused of stabbing his wife to death kissed another woman he had developed feelings for because he missed “romance” in his marriage, a court has heard.
Mohamed Samak, 42, denies murdering his interior designer wife Joanne, 49, at their home in Chestnut Spinney, Droitwich Spa, in the early hours of July 1 last year.
The former Egyptian international hockey player and coach claims his wife’s six stab wounds were self-inflicted because she was suffering from mental health and alcohol issues, but the prosecution argues he killed his wife because of financial difficulties and becoming interested in another woman.
Giving evidence on Thursday, Samak said his marriage “wasn’t the best” and admitted he had rekindled contact with a woman from France that he had met in 2009 when he worked in entertainment at a hotel in Taba, Egypt.
The woman was a guest at the hotel and Samak told the court they developed feelings for each other and kept in touch after she left but contact fizzled out and they did not speak again until the Covid lockdown in 2020.
He admitted they had met up on June 15 last year when the woman visited London for work and said he did not tell his wife about the meeting because he did not want to upset her.
After showing her the sights of London in his car and sharing a meal at a restaurant, Samak said he kissed the woman at the end of the night.
He said: “She said we shouldn’t have done this and I agreed with what she said and I apologised.
“It wasn’t right because I’m a married man.
“I stayed in the car and questioned what happened, it was great to see her and nice chatting to her after that long time, but the feelings, it wasn’t right. It was really confusing for me.”
He said he enjoyed speaking to the woman because he could share feelings that he could not share with his wife and confided in her about the issues in their marriage.
He said: “I liked talking to her, I liked the feelings I was missing with Jo, someone that you have a conversation with about personal feelings.
“It’s not about an affair. I just wanted the romance side, the help, the advice.
“I think I was missing the romance side of things. She filled that part, and that’s what it was.
“I was excited to see her, I liked her and we shared things I couldn’t really share with my wife, about how we were feeling and opening up.
“The more we talked about the feelings, I was talking about Jo more, I wished I could have that with my wife.”
When asked by defence barrister John Jones KC whether he and Joanne had been happily married, Samak, who became emotional during his evidence, said: “I was fortunate to have Jo and the marriage wasn’t the best but it’s not that I think about leaving or thinking about having a different relationship with someone.
“We love each other, kiss each other as normal, but don’t really share things as a married couple.”
Asked if he wanted to leave his marriage, Samak replied: “I never wanted to, I wanted the marriage to work.
“I loved Jo. We were busy but it doesn’t mean the love should disappear and I’m not just talking about physical, I’m talking about the emotional connection, not just sharing a bed.”
Around four days after meeting the woman, Samak said he told Joanne he was having feelings for someone else, which left his wife upset.
He said: “I didn’t want to mention her name or what happened, but share that we need to have a chat together because I met with someone and started to have feelings.
“She was emotional and crying. She was upset. I was the same and I told her I promise you this is not something that is serious, I can’t leave you and it’s just the feelings I’m missing with you.”
Samak told the court his wife was “disappointed” but admitted their relationship had become distant.
When asked by Mr Jones if the couple had argued, he said: “It wasn’t an argument but there were questions from her side, why would you do that, have you not thought of me, and I understand that.”
The defendant told the court the couple never argued or raised their voices at each other and never had disagreements about money but said in the years before his wife’s death, he was becoming concerned about how much alcohol she was drinking.
He said: “She raised it herself, she mentioned it and it was regular, something I see when I come back from work, I see empty bottles on the side.
“She was drinking normal but during the week it started to raise in the last year or two. As soon as she would come back from work, she would go straight to the fridge and get the wine.
“Sometimes she highlighted she needed to stop and slow down.”
The trial continues.
