Engineer accused of the rape and murder of his girlfriend became angry about her choice of clothes and threw a dog at her, court hears

An engineer accused of the rape and murder of his partner let her car tyre down to prevent her from going out and once threw a dog at her, a court has heard.Stephen Sexton, 39, also reprimanded Joanna Derkacz, 37, because he was angry about 'what she was wearing' as she didn't 'cover up enough', a jury was told.And a court heard during one argument Sexton chucked water at the recruitment consultant and launched a dog at her.Sexton is accused of subjecting Miss Derkacz to a 12-month campaign of 'domestic abuse' before raping her and murdering her at their home in Waterlooville, Hampshire – before going to visit a sex worker.She was found dead on December 28, 2023, having allegedly been strangled by Sexton in the early hours of the morning.On Wednesday, a friend of Miss Derkacz's told the court the alleged murder victim once had to take shelter at her home when Sexton flew into a rage when she came back from a festival.Katarzyna Sliwinska said she first realised there were problems in Sexton and Miss Derkacz's relationship in September 2022, around the time of a festival they were supposed to go to with their boyfriends.Ms Sliwinska told the court: 'In the morning she turned up without Stephen. He stayed home and she told us that there are some problems. Joanna Derkacz, in a selfie with Stephen Sexton, told a friend he threw water at her and threw a dog at her during one fight A neighbour told the court that Sexton had tried to control Miss Derkacz, pictured, by letting her tyre down so she could not drive'She said he was high and he wasn't in a state to go out.'She spent a lot of time on her phone there. I think Stephen was calling her and texting her.'We all went to our house after but as soon as we got there Joanna said she was going back home because she didn't want Stephen to get more angry. It was about 3am.'Ms Sliwinska said her friend came back around to her home the next day and was 'crying' and 'shaking'.She told Winchester Crown Court: 'They had a fight but she said he threw water at her and threw a dog at her.'She was saying some stuff about domestic abuse but I can't remember everything. I can't remember what the argument was about.'She couldn't work because he had taken her work phone.'She stayed a couple of days, I can't remember how many but three to four days.' Accused: Marine engineer Sexton was called 'coercive' Police at the couple's flat in Waterlooville, Hampshire, following Ms Derkacz's deathMs Sliwinska later texted Sexton on Miss Derkacz's behalf and Sexton told her it was 'now or never', and if Miss Derkacz did not want to work things out that it would be 'goodbye forever'.The couple got back together and Ms Sliwinska initially believed everything was OK between them again.However by the turn of the new year they had broken up again and Sexton 'destroyed' their house as he collected his things.The court heard the break-up was because Sexton had accused Miss Derkacz of having an affair with her sister's partner Lukasz, and was asked to leave.A neighbour of the couple, Kirsty Bradfield, also gave evidence to the court, saying that Sexton had tried to control Miss Derkacz by letting her tyre down so she could not drive.Miss Derkacz and Mrs Bradfield were friends and would frequently walk their dogs together.Mrs Bradfield said: 'I thought their relationship was going well until she opened up to me three weeks before the event in December when she passed away.'She opened up to me and told me it wasn't going well.'She said Stephen wasn't happy about what she was wearing, that she wasn't covering up enough.'I know she'd caught him with a bag of cocaine. She mentioned that when he was on drugs their relationship wasn't doing so well.'I remember she said he was pushing her around but that's all I can recall.'She said they didn't have sex when he was doing drugs. She refused to have sex with him.'She said she was glad he was moving out. I think she didn't want to feel trapped.'He came to our house [in the summer of 2023] and asked to borrow a pump to pump up a tyre for Joanna's car.'It wasn't until later that Joanna said to me that Stephen let her tyre down because he didn't want to go somewhere that she was due to go later that day.'After another argument on December 12, 2023, just two weeks before her death, Miss Derkacz texted Mrs Bradfield: 'He is mental, he was trying to tell me yesterday that everything happened because I was late [by] one hour.'She added: 'He isn't enough for me. I need more from life than him.'The jury has previously heard how after allegedly strangling Miss Derkacz at their flat, father-of-one Sexton immediately contacted two prostitutes before taking her car to visit one.Prosecutors said Sexton's 'first thought after the point of death was to try and find prostitutes', adding: 'It may be that the act of killing her had raised arousal.'Sexton, of Totton, Hampshire, denies murder, rape, and coercive or controlling behaviour.The trial continues.