Image copyright Family handout Image caption Sammy-Lee Lodwig was found dead at the defendant's home in April

A jealous man tied his girlfriend to a bed and "mercilessly" stabbed her following an argument, a court has heard.

Jason Farrell, 49, attacked Sammy-Lee Lodwig, 22, later confessing that he had "sliced her up", a jury was told.

Swansea Crown Court heard Farrell, who had dated the victim's mother, attacked a man he suspected of being his ex's new lover days before the killing.

He has admitted manslaughter but denies murder and wounding charges.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Mike Jones QC said Mr Farrell had been heard expressing a desire to hurt and kill Sammy-Lee and her mother Sarah.

He also said he wished to hurt Christopher Maher, the man he suspected of being in relationship with Sarah Lodwig, the court heard.

"He was, in short, jealous," Mr Jones told jurors.

'I killed her'

The prosecutor read from a "chilling" letter written by Mr Farrell after his arrest, which said he and Sammy-Lee had argued upon returning to the defendant's flat.

"Then the next thing I had her tied up and told her I'd had enough and I was going to kill her," Mr Farrell wrote.

"I did by repeatedly stabbing her in the face and throat."

Mr Jones said Farrell, of Carlton Terrace, in the Mount Pleasant area of Swansea, had knocked on a neighbour's window on April 23, saying: "I killed her."

Image copyright ATHENA PICTURES Image caption Jason Farrell has denied murdering his girlfriend

The neighbour told a friend, who accompanied Mr Farrell to his flat and saw the body of Ms Lodwig on a bed.

Paramedics found her fully clothed, with cuts across her throat and forehead and "severe bleeding" on the bedding, the court heard.

Injuries to her neck damaged major arteries and veins, while wounds to her chest were deep enough to enter both her lungs.

A black-handled kitchen knife covered in blood, with the tip of its 15cm (6in) blade missing, was found next to the bed.

The court heard Farrell, who fled the scene, was later arrested by armed police.

The prosecution told the court he was in a relationship with Ms Lodwig at the time of her death, having previously been in a relationship with her mother Sarah.

The jury heard that Mr Farrell believed another man - Christopher Maher - was Sarah Lodwig's new boyfriend, and attacked him in the street.

He denies causing grievous bodily harm with intent and unlawful wounding.

The trial continues.