UK UK - Sarah Wellgreen, 46, Kent, 9 Oct 2018

[Alyce]

I have perused this comment over and over and can't help but think im being smited for my "Christ on a bike" comment. I realise this is a very serious case and may have brought down the tone unintentionally!
I always leave serious comment so apologies if i have offended.

Noooo, not at all. As has been said, a bit of light humour helps us through when we are dealing with very grim situations

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

12:34

Court hears about Ben Lacomba's background

The court is hearing about Ben Lacomba’s life and his background. Jurors are told that his mother is Marilyn Lacomba, a primary school teacher, and his father is Juan Lacomba, originally a Spanish national who worked as a restaurant waiter.

Lacomba was born in Greenwich, grew up in Charlton and moved to Bexleyheath when he was aged 8 or 9. He went to a Bexleyheath primary school and an Erith secondary school.

He trained in 3D animation at home and then joined Red Post production, which makes TV programmes, in London as a runner before being promoted to the tape library. Lacomba was later promoted once again to help encode tapes into digital formats for the internet.

Lacomba worked in post production until he was around 21 or 22 years old.

His granddad died in Mallorca and he went there for the funeral. While there, he visited a flying school and pursued getting a pilot’s licence. He moved to Spain to do an air transport pilot licence in around 2002. At that time, he was living with his Spanish grandmother in a flat in Palma - the island’s capital city.

 

[Alyce]

I am here SVS but only just ! and will only be able to dip in and out today, so much appreciate your posting up the trial info

Am very interested to hear BLs story

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

DBM

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

I am here SVS but only just ! and will only be able to dip in and out today, so much appreciate your posting up the trial info

Am very interested to hear BLs story

Ok will do

Am here til approx 3.15pm

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

12:47

How Ben Lacomba and Sarah Wellgreen met

The court hears how Ben Lacomba met Sarah Wellgreen online on a website called Faceparty in 2004. They started talking at around Christmas time in 2004 and met face-to-face in January 2005.

Lacomba flew to Gatwick, Wellgreen picked him up and they went back to her home in Portsmouth for around a week. She was living with two sons, aged 7 and 8, at the time.

He says he and Sarah “got on brilliantly” in their first week together. Lacomba then returned to Spain to continue pilot training. They had a “long distance relationship” for about a year, seeing each other roughly once a month and they would visit each other.

Ben Lacomba and Sarah Wellgreen met on the website Faceparty - here's how it looked in 2004 ( see attachment)





Sarah was going through a divorce with a gentleman named Barry Donaldson at the time. David Burdett was Jack and Lewis’ father. Sarah’s surname was Donaldson.

“She told me that she had previously been married to a gentleman named Peter when she was about 16-years-old,” says Lacomba.

Lacomba says he thinks the surname was Symonds and that Sarah was a bank manager at Lloyds TSB at the time in Cosham.

“She seemed fine. A normal happy person,” Lacomba explains when asked about her mental health when they first met.

He adds: “Sarah was always physically healthy and I know she used to run for England as a child.”



Eta. Attachment mentioned in report

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

13:06

Lacomba and Sarah's relationship

Ben Lacomba completed his pilot training in late 2005, early 2006 - it was around that time that Sarah moved to join Lacomba in Mallorca.

Lacomba worked in Palma airport for a handling company for private jets and lived in a village called Senses.

They were renting out a family home and attempted to buy a property but Lacomba says the mortgage would not have been worth it on a house which needed renovation.

By spring 2007, Lacomba was still looking for his first pilot job, so the pair decided to move back to England so Sarah can return to being a bank manager and Lacomba can look after the children.

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

13:17

'We were a happy family' says Lacomba

After returning to the UK in 2007, Sarah and Lacomba first went to a caravan in Portsmouth, then rented a property in Dartford.

Sarah found 22 Bazes Shaw in New Ash Green online and Lacomba went to look at it and decided to take out a mortgage. He lived there until the date of his arrest. Sarah also became a bank manager at Lloyds TSB in Dartford.

Lacomba was “a home dad” looking after the children while Sarah worked for six months and then he became a private hire taxi driver with All Night Cars - a job he maintained up until his arrest. Lacomba says:

It was brilliant. We were a fantastic team, a happy family and all got on.



“We were able to do regular home improvements - a conservatory, a loft conversion.”

They also bought a family holiday home in Turkey as an investment.

When asked about having any arguments, he said: “Of course, the typical arguments that families have in day to day life.”

 

[mrazda71]

"I am in no way responsible for Sarah’s disappearance and I definitely have not killed her." - Ben Lacomba

Buuuulllllsheeeert!

IF he was innocent, why didn't he do anything and everything he could to aid police?

If I were in the same situation and innocent - I'd say 'here you go officer, here's my phone and I apologise in advance to whomever has the misfortune to have to read my google search history and deleted photo. Also any murder related searches will directly correlate to a Websleuth case' ...

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

14:51

Break up of relationship in 2014

Sarah and Lacomba broke up around April 2014. The court hears how in 2013, Lacomba’s father was accused of a sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl which “caused a lot of trauma within my family”, says Lacomba.

It caused problems between Sarah and Marilyn Lacomba as Marilyn did not immediately believe Juan Lacomba. Lacomba said:

It caused a lot of harm to my relationship. I’m very close with my mother. It caused a sense of divided loyalties because I love Sarah and I love my mother.”

Sarah came back from a holiday in Turkey. Her and Lacomba had a talk and she said: “I’ve been on holiday and I’ve met somebody while on holiday”. That person was Shaun Green and he lived in Gravesend. “Our relationship’s been difficult for a while, I need to know if you still love me,” she continued. Lacomba replied: “No I don’t”.

She said she was going to start seeing Shaun Green.

They split up but continued to live together, initially sleeping in the same bed and then she moved into the children’s bedroom.

Lacomba explains a situation from June 2014:

I was at work one day and Sarah texted me saying ‘you either get out of the house today or I’m taking the kids to Portsmouth’.



“This came as a shock to me so I went home.”

They had an argument and “she storms out” so Lacomba changes the lock “in fear that she’d come back, I’d wake up and the children would be gone”.

She then lives with Shaun Green. Sarah later rented a property in Gravesend and then got a property in Meopham.

In June 2014, Lacomba obtained an order from Dartford County Court preventing Sarah from removing children from the home and another order stating that the children would stay with him. He describes the situation between himself and Wellgreen as “acrimonious” at that time.

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

BL: Caused problems as I love Sarah and I love my Mother.

............


SW : Do you still love me?

BL: No, I don't




!

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

Have to pop out for an Hour......if anyone wants to update...

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

If not, I will happily catch up when Im back.....

 

[Legally Bland]

It caused problems between Sarah and Marilyn Lacomba as Marilyn did not immediately believe Juan Lacomba.

This doesn't ring true. Sarah believed Juan but his wife didn't?

I hope the jury have been given torches, I think there's going to be a lot of shade thrown their way.

 

[Legally Bland]

15:15
Sarah's new relationship and Bazes Shaw house put up for sale
The court hears how Sarah’s relationship with Shaun Green ends. She then has a brief relationship with another man before meeting Neil James. Neil and Sarah get together in December 2016 and live together in Farnham.

By February 2018 an orrder is made that 22 Bazes Shaw is to be put on the market and that the proceeds would be split between Sarah and Lacomba.

 

[Legally Bland]

15:22
Lacomba: 'Sarah wanted to get back with me and be a family again'

Ben Lacomba and Sarah Wellgreen
Ben Lacomba, dressed in a smart navy blue suit with clear rimmed glasses, continues to be questioned by Rebecca Trowler QC, defending.

He explains that in May 2018, things change “quite dramatically”. He said:

I was sitting on the sofa at home and my mother was sitting next to me. Sarah started a WhatsApp conversation with me.

“Just the fact she was texting me was quite unusual. She asked me if I was single and seeing anyone.”​

Lacomba says this “confused” him but replied saying he wasn’t seeing anyone at that time and was single. He continues:

She said she was having ‘problems’ and ‘difficulties’ with Neil. I said ‘I thought you were happy and that you were getting on’ but she said she wasn’t and there were ‘continual problems’.

She said to me ‘if we could get back as a family, do you think we could have any chance? would you want to?’​

He says showed his mother the text in “disbelief”. Lacomba says:

She wanted to get back with me and try to be a couple again. It was a 180. My house was on the market. I complied with all existing orders.

“In my mind, she managed to get every decision she wanted in court over the years. To get back with me would mean really what was all that for? That’s why I was so shocked.”​

Lacomba said he was “not in a happy place” as his house was on the market and had lost all the court hearings. He explains that said to her ‘I can’t believe this is what you’re talking about really. We haven’t been able to really be in the same room together and have a civil conversation for years and this is what you’re proposing.’

Lacomba said he would think about it over the next few days and then meet up to discuss it. He adds:

There wasn’t a lot to think about. If there was any chance that we would be a family again then I was willing to take that chance.

“Even if it didn’t work, then I could look my children in the eye when they’re older and tell them I did everything I could to make it work.

“We would be back to what it was, a couple, a family.”​

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

 

[Legally Bland]

15:38
Sarah moved back in to Bazes Shaw house in May 2018
The court hears from Lacomba about how Wellgreen moved back in to 22 Bazes Shaw in May 2018 following their discussion.

Lacomba describes it as “surreal” and that Sarah was “happy and positive”. He says the children were “stunned” that they were happy together.

He says he and Sarah slept in the same bed and on the first night were talking about “how mad the situation was” and that they were both “excited”. But then Lacomba explains:

Sarah started getting physically intimate with me and I said to her ‘can we just take it slowly please? We’ve only just got back into the same house, the children are clearly happy, can we just get back into a routine?’​

Sarah had just got out of a relationship, they weren’t “in love” so to rush things physically would be a “mistake”, says Lacomba.

Sarah seemed fine with that but after a couple of days things started to change.

“She texted me that it wasn’t working how she intended it to work so instead of being a couple, how would I feel about living in the same house and bringing up the children co-parenting but living separate lives.

“I was relieved.

“I felt that the only way it could work with me and Sarah was to be completely honest with our feelings and the whole situation was pressured enough and I didn’t feel that I could lets say trick her into thinking that I could go along with a relationship just by sleeping with her.”​

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

 

[Legally Bland]

16:01
Lacomba explains he lived with Sarah but they weren't a couple
When Sarah returned to 22 Bazes Shaw in May 2018, Ben Lacomba’s mother, Marilyn Lacomba, was also living at the house.

Lacomba explained she had been living there to “help out with childcare while I’m at work”. But Marilyn moved out shortly after to give her son and Sarah “as much of a chance as possible”.

Lacomba says the living arrangement was “going really well” with him staying in the loft and Sarah in another bedroom.

They agreed to lead separate lives and have other relationships but “never bring them back to the home”.

Sarah “straight away” started seeing other men on dating apps like Tinder, Match.com, and Elite Singles, according to Lacomba. He says:

I was happy that Sarah was happy. That always makes my life a lot happier but she would always go home and see these people, sometimes stay in hotels, and then she’d come home and talk about them. ‘This guy does this for a job’. I sort of became like one of her friends. I was happy to listen.”​

Lacomba says he was single and had an online dating account but wasn’t meeting up with anyone. A month or two after moving back in, Lacomba says Sarah told him was thinking about getting back with Neil which “surprised” Lacomba.

When Sarah would stay in Portsmouth or Farnham on weekends, Marilyn would stay in her room and use separate bedding, Lacomba says.

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

 

[Legally Bland]

16:12
Lacomba questioned over shovels in the garden shed
Ben Lacomba is now being questioned about shovels found in his garden shed - one of which had dirt on when seized by police and was previously shown to jurors.

He explains that his mother Marilyn is in “good health” but has fibromyalgia, a condition which affects her physically and mentally. It can make her very tired, causes pain throughout her body and makes her very forgetful and clumsy, according to Lacomba - but it is regulated with medication.

“My mother likes doing gardening as well,” says Lacomba before going through the contents of the shed. In 2018, Lacomba says he had “about three spades”.

He says he bought the long handled shovel - as previously shown in court which had dirt on it when seized - as a present for his mum around Christmas 2017 because she was talking about doing work in the front garden.

I thought about my mum and her fibromyalgia. I thought that would be ideal as it would allow her lots of leverage. This would prevent her from having to lean down when digging a border.”​

He thinks she used it a couple of times but then thought she would be more comfortable getting down on her knees with a hand trowel.

Another shovel was his father’s that he was storing for him, says Lacomba.

And another one was around three feet long which was purchased after the police had searched the house in November 2018 and ripped up the decking in his back garden.

He says he got this so he could get underneath the decking to repair the foundations and install new decking.

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

 

[Legally Bland]

16:22
CCTV footage and where Lacomba parked his taxi before Sarah's disappearance

Ben Lacomba, who used to run a children's nerf gun club, is on trial for the murder of Sarah Wellgreen

Lacomba, who runs a local children’s club with nerf guns, explains that the CCTV cameras at 22 Bazes Shaw were first installed by him in 2014 because of an incident involving both his and his mother’s car. He says:

One day I came out of my house and all four of my tyres had been punctured and also my mother’s car - all four tyres had been punctured.

“I had suspicions but I thought I’d stick CCTV up and it worked.

“It never happened again.”​

Lacomba said the cameras stopped recording footage “about a year before all of this”. He says he checked neighbour Jay Ellis’ CCTV to see what they monitored so he knew what was being recorded.

And then he checked again around May 2018 to check the direction of it hadn’t changed so “maybe certain spaces in the car park weren’t being monitored”.

He describes car park 1 as his “normal car park” but sometimes he parked in car park 2 and other parking bays just before the entrance to car park 1.

He says he had been parking in car park 2 “for a couple of months” before Sarah’s disappearance.

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

 

[Legally Bland]

16:29
Sarah's plans to buy out Lacomba's half of house
Lacomba tells the court that he learnt of Sarah’s plan to buy him out of the property around a month or two after she had moved back to 22 Bazes Shaw.

When asked if that plan was likely to happen, Lacomba said:

No not really. Sarah was always coming up with these plans. She had mentioned £50,000 (for half equity) and to me my house is conservatively worth £300,000. I went along with it but didn’t agree to that amount of £50,000.

“I wasn’t expecting this to actually happen but if it actually did emerge as a realistic possibility, I would have said I would have agreed to taking half of the equity.

“The relationship between me and Sarah was completely different. We weren’t having to live our lives using a court order so I was happy.

“I might be living in a different house but to me a house is a house, what makes it a home is the family in it.”​

But Lacomba says he was unaware of the plans for Sarah’s sons Jack and Lewis to get a mortgage to buy him out and first learnt of this on October 11 when a police officer came to the house and Lacomba started to look through messages on her phone.

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder