KILLER Andrew Evans beat his wife to death and then made breathing noises down the phone to pretend that he was giving her resuscitation, a court heard. On the fourth day of his trial at Norwich Crown Court, Evans, 49, changed his plea to guilty. He admit

KILLER Andrew Evans beat his wife to death and then made breathing noises down the phone to pretend that he was giving her resuscitation, a court heard.

On the fourth day of his trial at Norwich Crown Court, Evans, 49, changed his plea to guilty.

He admitted killing his wife, Leonie, 46, in February last year at their home in Cornwallis Drive, Eaton Socon. The Bedford postman is due to be sentenced on Wednesday.

The day before she died, Leonie Evans phoned her father to say she "could not take any more", the court heard.

Leonard Clark said: "Her husband was hitting her. He was not hitting her around the face any more. He was punching her in the stomach."

During the trial, the court heard a history of domestic violence and that the beatings had become worse after October 2005. The couple had been married for 10 years.

Jurors heard that Mrs Evans, an alcoholic before she married, had been described as having borderline personality disorder. She had taken overdoses and threatened suicide.

On the night she died, she was found with injuries to her head, neck and abdomen, caused by kicking, stamping and by pressure being applied. She had damage to her abdomen, tearing in her bowel, laceration of her liver and fractures to three ribs. She died of a head injury.

Timothy Barnes prosecuting said "Her pullover had been pulled up over her neck and there was the pattern of it on her neck due to compression, probably due to a headlock."

The court heard that police were called at 11.40pm. Mr Evans told the ambulance service he had found his wife unconscious on the floor. He was given advice over the phone about resuscitation techniques and made blowing noises pretending to carry them out. He said he could hear some noises from his wife as he pumped her chest 15 times.

"It was all a charade," Mr Barnes said. "Mrs Evans had been dead for some time before that 999 call was made."

Mr Barnes said: "He killed her with brutal and sustained violence. She was intoxicated and could have been unconscious at the time. Her blood reading was five times over the driving limit - 386 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood, which is exceptionally high even for an alcoholic."

Mr Barnes said. "The last person outside her home to see Mrs Evans alive was a local shopkeeper who had noticed black eyes and bruising for two years. That day, she wanted to buy a bottle of vodka at 11 in the morning but had no money and was refused credit. She went back at 6pm, seeming happy and normal and said she was cooking that night. She bought a bottle of vodka and another of red wine."

At 10pm, neighbours heard sounds from the Evans household. One told the court: 'It was a moan, not a high pitched moan. It lasted a couple of seconds. It was from the lady which I would clearly recognise.'

The neighbour's girlfriend said: "It was a loud scream or groan".

The court heard that Mrs had been known by the Huntingdon mental health authorities since 1998. She and Evans had no children.