A UK court is examining the tragic case of Tarryn Baird, a woman who took her own life after enduring a campaign of “physical and sexual violence” allegedly inflicted by her husband, Christopher Trybus. Baird, 34, was discovered dead at her home in Swindon, Wiltshire, on November 28, 2017. In a heart-wrenching note left for her family, she expressed, “I am so sorry but I just couldn’t take it any more.”
Christopher Trybus, 43, faces charges of manslaughter, two counts of rape, and coercive and controlling behaviour. He has denied all allegations against him. Prosecutors opened the trial at Winchester Crown Court on Tuesday, detailing how Trybus’s behaviour escalated significantly in the two years leading up to Baird’s death.
The prosecution presented evidence including diary entries written by Baird, which document a distressing shift in her relationship with Trybus, whom she married in 2009 after moving from South Africa to the UK. One entry describes an alarming incident: “One night, during sex, I felt his hands around my neck. Something was unleashed that night. Progressively, sex got rougher. The more I fight back, the more he enjoys it.” In another entry, Baird noted that this aggressive side of her husband was “a side that has been hidden all these years.”
The court heard that one of the alleged rapes occurred following a disagreement about school fees for Baird’s cousin. Prosecutor Tom Little KC argued that Trybus had previously attempted to strangle his wife and had forced himself on her.
In addition to physical violence, the trial revealed that Trybus had installed an application on Baird’s mobile phone to monitor her location. On one occasion, he questioned her about the length of time she spent at a doctor’s appointment. Baird had visited her doctor multiple times in the months leading up to her death, where she ultimately disclosed the violence she had suffered.
In October 2016, Baird confided to her doctor and a domestic abuse charity that Trybus had tied a rope around her neck. Little highlighted the importance of not overlooking the circumstances leading to her tragic decision to take her life, emphasizing the physical and emotional control exerted over her.
The jury learned that Baird had attempted to leave Trybus in November 2016, but he allegedly struck her with a metal pole, leaving her fearful to leave. She had begun making plans to escape to a women’s refuge, but these plans were thwarted when Trybus returned unexpectedly from a business trip.
Little described how Trybus allegedly threatened to discredit Baird by telling her parents about supposed drug and alcohol problems, which would undermine her claims of domestic abuse. He stated, “It was the control and physical violence meted out to her, including sexual violence and the threat of and fear of physical and sexual violence on his part towards her and over time, which led to a deterioration in her already weakened mental state.”
The trial is set to continue for approximately seven weeks, examining the complexities of this heartbreaking case.
For those in need of support, the Samaritans can be contacted in the UK and Ireland at freephone 116 123, or via email at [email protected]. In the United States, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached at 988 or at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, Lifeline can be contacted at 13 11 14. Further international helplines can be accessed at befrienders.org.
