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Prostitute stole cash, murder accused tells Leicester court

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A man told a jury he did not rape a prostitute or attempt to murder her after picking her up on the street. Arturas Ardavicius (26) is accused of twice strangling her until she was unconscious in an alleged double rape ordeal. The prosecution alleged he showed the 31-year-old woman, who was in the early stages of pregnancy, no mercy when she told him she was expecting a child. Ardavicius, a Lithuanian national, of Bonchurch Street, off Fosse Road North, Leicester, denies attempted murder and twice raping the woman, in the early hours of July 7. Giving evidence in his defence at Leicester Crown Court, Ardavicius, a warehouse worker, spoke through an interpreter. He said that having walked home from a nightclub, after drinking vodka and beer, he found he was locked out of the house and decided to sleep in his car. He told the jury: "I was drunk, but I was okay." He said he drove to somewhere quiet to sleep, ending in Kent Street, off Humberstone Road, where he stopped to read text messages from his girlfriend. Ardavicius claimed he was then approached by the complainant who asked him if he wanted "business". He accepted and claimed she directed him to the isolated track on Richard III Road, although the woman told the jury he had insisted on taking her there. The defendant claimed she performed a sex act upon him for £20. He said they did not have intercourse at any stage and no rape or strangulation took place. He told the jury: "I felt a bit sleepy after the sex. She wanted me to take her back. I said I'd give her £10 for a taxi. She wasn't happy." He claimed he then noticed her "drop something" and realised it was his wallet, emptied of up to £200 in cash. He said: "She tried to run away. I chased her. I grabbed her shoulders. She was screaming and shouting. "I held her head in a head lock, putting my arm around her neck. I sat her down. "I told her to give me my money back from my wallet." Ardavicius said when two milk floats arrived on the scene he quickly left in his car because he felt "embarrassed". He told the jury that when first questioned by police he lied about being with a prostitute, saying: "I was scared. I didn't want my girlfriend to find out. I love her. I've never been unfaithful to her before." The jury was told that in December 2003, when aged 17, he stabbed a man he had disarmed, during a fight in Lithuania, for which he served a custodial sentence of four years and three months. Giving evidence earlier in the trial, the alleged victim claimed Ardavicius drove her to an isolated dirt track on Richard III Road. She alleged he became violent during consensual sex and began throttling her. She claimed she feared for her life. The trial continues.

Prostitute stole cash, murder accused tells Leicester court


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