A 26-year-old woman accused of murdering her partner will allege that he had a history of beating her, a court heard this morning.

Andrina Tamara Smith, of Granaway Road, Southampton, is charged with killing 36-year-old Edward Allan Dill on October 16, 2006 in Devonshire. She denies murder.

At the start of her Supreme Court trial yesterday, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves told potential jurors that the case involved a stabbing and that they were likely to see “photographs of blood”.

“This is a murder case and basically it seems to be about a young lady and her boyfriend at the time, her child’s father,” he said.

“It’s a case also in which you will hear allegations of beatings or a history of beatings. You may hear these allegations being made on behalf of the defendant, that the deceased beat her.”

The jury of nine women and three men was told that the trial was likely to take about three weeks and that they would hear from more than 40 prosecution witnesses.

Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney is expected to open the case this afternoon.

For the full report of today’s hearing see The Royal Gazette tomorrow.