THE former partner of a Kent school teacher has claimed in court that he killed her after she mocked and laughed at him.

Peter Hutchings, 60, said he strangled Sally Jessop her with a scarf at the Canterbury home they had shared.

The father-of-three wept as he told a jury at Maidstone Crown Court: “I don’t know why I did it. There was no fight, no struggle. Part of me didn’t want to believe what was happening.”

Hutchings, of Harcourt Drive, Canterbury, denies murdering Miss Jessop, 48, who taught at Joy Lane Junior School at Whitstable. He admits manslaughter on the grounds of provocation.

Hutchings told the court the couple’s relationship deteriorated after Christmas 2003. “The first I knew Sally wanted to leave me was the end of October 2004,” he said. She never stated any reason.

“She said she wanted to end the relationship. It came like a bomb to me when she told me that.”

First their daughter Frances moved out, followed by Miss Jessop, who rented accommodation in Chartham.

Hutchings said he went to his doctor and sought help for depression. “I decided I was going to take my life,” he said.

He admitted typing the words “murder” and “how to commit murder” into an Internet search engine in September last year.

He also admitted going onto a site with the keyword “ligature.”

“I was not intending to find a way to kill Sally,” Hutchings said. “I have never had any malicious thoughts or planned to murder her.”

Hutchings said Miss Jessop was due to visit him on New Year’s Eve to collect some money. He claimed she started going “bonkers” and did not believe him when he told her he did not have the money.

The pair sat down together at the bottom of the stairs. “I was going to get the money so she could go,” said Hutchings.

He said he reached for his scarf but that Miss Jessop would not let him have it.

“She called me a recluse in a horrid way, mocking me, making comparisons,” he said. “I just remember pulling the scarf. I just wanted my scarf.

“Then Sally was lying slumped on the stairs. I wasn’t sure what was happening.”

Hutchings said he dragged Miss Jessop upstairs and onto the bed, where she was found.

He then swallowed 122 pills, washed down with vodka.

“I was feeling shell-shocked and confused,” he told the court.

Hutchings was asked if he knew about Miss Jessop’s relationship with Andrew Bower.

Hutchings said: “I didn’t know anything about that affair or the previous two she had until this year when I read the statements.”

The trial continues.