Jury hears evidence from the former partners of South Tyneside woman accused of murdering her boyfriend

Nicola Lee is accused of stabbing Paul Taylor, 45, to death following a drunken argument at her home in Thames Avenue in Jarrow, on March 31.

Lee, 44, denies his murder and is being tried by jurors at Newcastle Crown Court.

On the first day of evidence in the case, the jury was given an outline from prosecutor Caroline Goodwin QC.

She described how Lee had previously armed herself with a knife and told ex-boyfriend Andrew McLaughlin "I'm going to f***ing kill you, I swear to god I'll kill you" during an argument.

Ms Goodwin said: "Fortunately her son was able to disarm her."

She told the court how, during a separate argument, Lee stabbed Mr McLaughlin in the thigh with a garden fork, poured turps on him and set fire to his sleeping bag.

Ms Goodwin said another former ex-boyfriend Steven Connelly said Lee had armed herself with a kitchen knife during an argument.

The court heard how he had managed to disarm her but was left with two cuts to his forearm.

Ms Goodwin said Lee responded by picking up a hammer from the kitchen bench and running towards him.

She said Mr Connelly managed to shut the door, but Lee struck it with the hammer so forcefully it burst through.

Ms Goodwin also told the court how a friend of the couple had previously heard Lee saying to Mr Taylor: "I could kill you and get away with it because of my bipolar."

The prosecutor told the court: "The Crown say that the person who is responsible for his death was Nicola Barbara Lee who sits in the dock.

"She stabbed him to death.

"She armed herself with a knife and fatally stabbed him during an argument.

"She was drunk, aggressive and argumentative on this particular night and her unlawful action led to the termination of his life by a single stab wound."

Ms Goodwin told the court how Lee claimed that Mr Taylor stabbed himself, something the prosecution "simply do not accept."

The case continues.