Murder accused Bradley Wayne Trussell shoved Eden Kennett into fridge and left her having a seizure while he smoked cigarette

A man accused of murder has told a court he shoved his partner into a fridge then smoked a cigarette while she lay on the floor.

Murder accused Bradley Wayne Trussell has told the Supreme Court he shoved his partner forcefully into a fridge and left her having a seizure on the kitchen floor while he smoked a cigarette.

Trussell is standing trial charged with murdering Eden Kennett, who was declared brain dead on December 14, 2018, a day after Trussell dropped her at hospital in Mt Gambier unconscious, bruised from head-to-toe and frothing at the mouth.

Giving evidence in his defence, Trussell on Tuesday told the court he and Ms Kennett had an initially loving relationship that was later punctuated by methamphetamine addiction and heated, and sometimes violent, arguments about drugs, money or trust issues.

Alleged murder victim Eden Kennett.

“I ended up pushing her towards the fridge and after that she’s just fallen to the ground,” Trussell, 29, said.

He said Ms Kennett had been grabbing him and trying to stop him from leaving the house and he “just wanted to get away from her” so he pushed her forcefully in the back with both hands.

He said he heard her fall and begin having a seizure as he went to the loungeroom to sit down and have a cigarette. He said he then returned to the kitchen after about 5-7 minutes and found her “still convulsing on the floor face down”.

Trussell said Ms Kennett, 25, had previously feigned seizures to end arguments during their two-year relationship.

“If I thought she was having a genuine seizure I would have gone to her a lot quicker,” he said.

He said he tried to wake Ms Kennett up before carrying her to the shower to run cold water on her in a bid to stop her seizures, but dropped her twice on the way.

Once in the shower, he said she had stopped convulsing but was “just not responsive”.

He then drove to his sister’s house, before they took Ms Kennett to hospital.

At the beginning of the trial Trussell said he was not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.

Opening the trial in Mount Gambier earlier this month, prosecutors said the alleged crime was “a tragic case of domestic violence” which took Ms Kennett’s life.

They said Ms Kennett’s fatal injury was a lacerated liver caused by blunt force trauma, while her other injuries included head trauma, fractured ribs and more than 40 bruises.

They said blood and chunks of hair matching the victim’s DNA and a “long stick pole” were found at the Mt Gambier house the couple shared.

The trial, before Justice Anne Bampton in the absence of a jury, continues.