Stephen Tillett, the man accused of killing a Bradford mum-of-two, today told a hushed courtroom how he smothered her to death.

Mr Tillett, 33, of Welhan Walk, Wapping, Bradford said he had been suffering extreme stress before he killed her.

He told Leeds Crown Court that Janine Dolecki had become increasingly amorous towards him during the months he lodged at her house in Bradford Moor.

But her advances were unwanted.

He said his employer owed him money, but he was rowing with his girlfriend about access to his son and had recently been evicted when she started coming on strong.

Mr Tillett said: "She came across as though she wanted a relationship rather than just a friendship. I was trying to cope and stress was just building up."

He said problems started at Christmas when he spent a few days with another woman and returned to find Janine upset because he hadn't spent any time with her.

Finally, as he prepared to leave her house for a new rented property he said "you could cut the atmosphere with a knife."

After two sleepless nights and after injecting amphetamines a row broke out between them upstairs in the early hours of January 31 last year.

Mr Tillett told the jury Mrs Dolecki said she loved him and asked him why he was leaving.

He said: "I just exploded at that point. She bit my finger and tried to grab the back of my neck. I grabbed her and circled round. I wasn't in a right state of mind.

"I held a sheet over her face and she released my finger. She was trying to grab my neck. My mind just exploded. I just kept the sheet there until she was dead."

Today saw the beginning of the defence case of the trial in which Tillett is accused of murder. He denies the charge but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter by provocation.

The case continues.

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