Luke Walker, 25, denies beating 20-year-old Chelsea Hyndman prior to her death days later from acute peritonitis
A man accused of murdering his girlfriend on Crete told a court that his "whole life fell apart" as she was rushed to hospital the day before she died.
Luke Walker is alleged by Greek prosecutors to have beaten 20-year-old Chelsea Hyndman in the days leading up to her death on 17 May 2010.
Taking the stand at his trial in Heraklion, Walker, who denies murder, said that when he realised Miss Hyndman was seriously ill, his life changed for ever.
"On the 16th [May] I take my girlfriend to the medical centre, I only had a phone card in my pocket because I thought we'd be back in an hour, and then we get rushed to the hospital and in that time my whole life fell apart," he told the court.
A few days before, in the early hours of 12 May, the couple had arrived back at the apartment they shared together and Miss Hyndman, who had been unwell, became irritated with Walker because he began cooking and she was feeling nauseous.
They had a "little bicker", Walker said, and she went out. He assumed she had gone to a friend's nearby apartment.
Asked by the trial judge if he had pushed her, if she had hit against any furniture, or if he had hurt her, he replied "no".
The court heard that in the lead-up to the death of Miss Hyndman, who was from Castleford in West Yorkshire, she had become increasingly ill.
Her stomach was bloated, her eyes a yellow colour, she was sick and constipated, and witnesses said she was weak. Asked what he thought was the reason for her death, Walker, 25, said: "All I know is that I stand here trying to tell you what I know. I know I'm innocent. I'm here to clear my name. I don't know how she died. I can't answer that question, but I know I'm innocent."
The court heard that Miss Hyndman died as a result of acute peritonitis.
Walker, who was accompanied in court by about 20 family and friends, said that he met Miss Hyndman in Malia in 2008 and they hit it off straight away.
Asked if he thought they had a future together, he said: "One hundred per cent, without a doubt. I would not have gone into a relationship with her if I did not think it had a future. That was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."
They had "standard" arguments and disagreements, he said, but were both very happy together.
The hearing continues.
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