Ertan Ersoy found guilty of murdering Antonella Castelvedere

Ertan Ersoy, 51, denied one charge of murder but admitted manslaughter after stabbing Antonella Castelvedere to death in June last year.

The trial, which has lasted more than three weeks, opened on October 3.

Since then, the jury has heard hours of evidence from psychiatrists, police officers, paramedics, doctors, pathologists, as well as neighbours and friends of Ersoy and Dr Casteldevere.

The jury retired on Wednesday afternoon, and deliberated for about five hours before returning a guilty verdict.

Ersoy, who was dressed in a shirt, tie, and jacket, showed no emotion when the verdict was read out in court.

Crime scene - a picture of the scene in Wickham Road, where Dr Casteldevere died (Image: Lewis Adams, Newsquest)

Over the 23-day trial, the court heard how Dr Casteldevere, 52, had told a friend she feared for her safety and that her husband had “fallen back into a dark state of mind”.

Making the case for the prosecution, Christopher Paxton KC said at one stage of the trial that Ersoy was “controlling, jealous and possessive”, having installed a covert listening device in the couple’s home and hiring a private investigator.

Mr Paxton said: “The defendant, we say, killed Antonella in an angry and jealous rage – and that is why we say the defendant is guilty of murder.”

Ersoy, who did not give evidence and was not cross-examined, said in an interview with forensic psychiatrist Dr Frank Farnham that his wife attacked him with a knife in the kitchen.

The following minutes, Ersoy claimed, were a blur and he has no recollection of the attack.

Defence barrister, Sarah Elliot KC, argued Ersoy’s killing of his wife was so frenzied that he could not have been in control of his actions at the time of the incident.

Shocked - neighbours ran to the couple's address after hearing loud noises (Image: Lewis Adams, Newsquest)

She said: “We know he stabbed her, and we know he suffered two stab wounds himself.

“The reason the prosecution are desperate to convince you that he stabbed himself is because, as soon as you believe Antonella stabbed him, we have a different picture.

“A depressed and abusive man is confronted with serious violence from his partner.”

Judge Christopher Morgan, who has presided over the case at Chelmsford Crown Court, will sentence Ersoy tomorrow.

He said: "You will return to this court tomorrow.

"If for some reason you do not attend and there is no reason for your non-attendance, then I shall consider sentencing you in your absence."