Canterbury: Wife hid murdered husband’s body in garden

A neighbour of a woman accused of murdering her husband and hiding his body in a bag in the garden has told a court she noticed a strange smell outside.

Maureen Rickards, 50, denies stabbing to death Jeremy Rickards, whom she was married to for 27 years.

Ms Rickards initially stored his body dressed in his underwear in a cupboard in her bedroom, before wrapping it in bin bags, putting it in a large holdall, and moving it down two flights of stairs, the prosecution at Canterbury Crown Court claim.

The body was eventually hidden under grass cuttings in her garden at St Martin’s Road, Canterbury, the court heard.

The prosecution claim Mr Rickards was killed sometime after 7 June 2024.

The remains of the 65-year-old were discovered by police on 11 July, six days after he was reported missing by his stepdaughter.

Neighbour Oksana Kandaurova told the court she was tidying up her own garden a few days before a family event on 14 June when she noticed a smell.

Speaking through a Russian interpreter, she said: “It wasn’t like anything else. Like smell from rubbish or animal corpse. It was the first time I had felt such a smell.”

She was asked how strong the smell was, and replied: ‘I can’t understand how to describe it. It was a very unpleasant smell.’

Ms Kandaurova said after the family event, she avoided going out into the garden because of the smell.

The jury was also played recordings which the court was told were found on Mrs Rickards’ phone.

The prosecution says she was berating her husband as he lay dishevelled and confused on the floor, and voicing her intent to harm and kill.

The trial continues.