Swindon man hears evidence from mother-in-law at trial over wife's suicide

The mother of a woman who took her own life after allegedly suffering abuse at the hands of her husband has given evidence at his trial.

Christopher Trybus, of Swindon, Wiltshire, is accused of the manslaughter of Tarryn Baird, who died of hanging in November 2017 at the age of 34.

Trybus, 43, also faces charges at Winchester Crown Court of controlling and coercive behaviour and two charges of rape, alleged to have happened in October and November 2016.

The coercive control charge alleges that Trybus controlled Ms Baird through using and threatening violence towards her, sexually assaulting her, monitoring her whereabouts, limiting access to finance, threatening to reveal private information to her family and isolating her from her family.

Michelle Baird, the mother of Tarryn, told jurors she had seen bruises on her daughter’s body and described how she had become withdrawn from her family.

Winchester Crown Court heard Ms Baird and Mr Trybus came to the UK from their home country of South Africa in 2007 and were married two years later.

Mrs Baird described how she, her husband and their son joined her daughter in England and moved into a property closer to her home in 2014.

“I would speak to her every morning, just to see if she was ok,” Mrs Baird said.

“We would make arrangements to get together and have a cup of coffee.

“Tarryn would always cancel and use excuses ‘I’m tired, I’m going to the gym’, so she withdrew from the family.

“That started towards the latter part of 2015, early 2016.”

Mrs Baird said she questioned whether her daughter was ok, with the response that she was experiencing “dizzy spells, problems with her heart”.

The court heard Ms Baird would assist her husband with his business as a software consultant and developer, which saw him travel abroad regularly as well as work from home.

When asked if they had a routine when he was home, Mrs Baird replied: “Tarryn was to prepare Christopher’s lunch. It had to be on the table at 12.15.

“Teatime was at 3pm. She would make him tea, offer him tea and biscuits. When he was working, she was to sit in the living room with the door closed.

“She didn’t want to disturb him. She didn’t want to make any noise.”

The court heard Ms Baird had started the process of adopting a child in 2015 and 2016 but this did not progress.

When asked why, Mrs Baird replied: “Just as my daughter was about to meet a foster child, it came to an abrupt end.

“Tarryn told me, in front of friends, that the reason it came to an end was Christopher was never around.

“He didn’t go to, or attend catch ups, of the lessons and when he was asked what he would do to reprimand a child, he said he would hit them.”

Mrs Baird described seeing bruises on her daughter’s face, arms and torso on “a few occasions” between 2015 and 2017.

When asked what the explanation was, she said: “It was the same every time – fainting, hurting herself at the gym, falling in the shower.”

She told the court Mr Trybus had informed her that her daughter was “an alcoholic” who would drink and take prescription medication.

Mr Trybus denies the charges and the trial continues.