Killer went shopping with Jo’s body in boot

A KILLER neighbour strangled Joanna Yeates then went shopping in Asda with her body in the boot of his vehicle, a court has heard.

Vincent Tabak texted his girlfriend to say he was bored just minutes after murdering the 25-year-old landscape architect, a jury was told.

He avoided police suspicion for weeks by maintaining the pretence that he was a concerned neighbour, the prosecution claims.

As the murder inquiry made international headlines, Tabak told a guest at a dinner party the killer must be a “crazy, detached person”, Bristol Crown Court heard yesterday.

The 33-year-old – who has admitted manslaughter but denies murder – also sent a string of e-mails to his girlfriend to cover his tracks, describing the case as “creepy”, Nigel Lickley, for the Crown, said.

Tabak, a Dutch engineer, looked on from the dock as Mr Lickley said: “He was able to mislead and manipulate others and to hide his inner feelings. He was in complete control and knew what he was doing.”

CCTV footage showed him wandering the aisles at an Asda supermarket in Bedminster, Bristol, less than two hours after the killing on 17 December.

Within minutes of “squeezing the life out” of Miss Yeates, Tabak was claimed to have sent his girlfriend a text message: “Miss you loads. It’s boring here without you Vxx”.

He then went to the 24-hour supermarket to buy rock salt – for melting ice – along with crisps and beer.

“It must be that the body of Joanna Yeates was in the boot of his car at the time of his visit to Asda,” Mr Lickley said.

A forensic examination of the scene where her body was found located Miss Yeates’ blood on a wall of a neighbouring quarry – suggesting Tabak tried but failed to lift her corpse over.

Miss Yeates’ mother Teresa wept in the public gallery as the jury was shown CCTV footage of the victim enjoying drinks with friends before she was killed.

Miss Yeates had not known Tabak, despite being his next-door neighbour.

On the night of her death, a couple walking past her flat heard two screams, one muffled, before a thud – like furniture moving, Mr Lickley said.

Miss Yeates had got home after drinks and “settled down for the evening when she was interrupted by Vincent Tabak”.

“There were screams heard by neighbours at a nearby party,” Mr Lickley said. “Those screams were Vincent Tabak attacking her.”

Mr Lickley added: “Having killed her, he drove her body in the boot of his Renault Megane car and deposited her in Longwood Lane.”

Tabak had attempted to hide Miss Yeates’ body by covering it with leaves.

“Before Joanna Yeates’ boyfriend, Greg Reardon, had reported his girlfriend missing in the early hours of the morning, Vincent Tabak was using Google Maps to search for Longwood Lane,” he added.

“It is a striking feature of this case that, as one young man became more and more worried about his missing girlfriend, there, on the other side of the common wall, was her killer.”

Miss Yeates’ boyfriend Greg Reardon returned to their flat in Canynge Road, Clifton, on the evening of 19 December after a weekend away visiting family.

The jury heard a clearly distressed Mr Reardon call 999 after finding her mobile phone and coat still in the flat.

Footage of Miss Yeates at the Bristol Ram showed her in a long-sleeved pink top and jeans, with a white watch. “She was found [on Christmas Day] wearing this,” Mr Lickley added.

She walked home at about 8pm via a Bargain Booze shop and a local Tesco, picking up a mozzarella and basil pizza.

Mr Lickley said: “The pizza and its box have not been found. Joanna Yeates did not eat it. Vincent Tabak took it, as he did one of her socks. Why he took these items only he can say.”

Mr Lickley told how Miss Yeates’s body was found by a couple on Christmas Day.

The case continues.