Accused murderer George ?Messy? MacDonald Liburd told a Supreme Court jury yesterday that he killed Chena Trott because he knew no other way of dealing with his emotions after suffering a childhood of violent abuse.

Liburd, 32, who is charged with murdering Ms Trott at the Crawl Esso Tigermart in August 2002, took the stand to tell a packed court room that a childhood of beatings at the hands of his father led him to lash out violently at other people, including his former girlfriend who he regularly beat, slapped, and kicked before stabbing her to death.

Ms Trott, who is survived by three children, was stabbed by Liburd six times during the brutal daylight attack outside the gas station.

Liburd was initially expressionless as he gave his testimony yesterday, but the trial had to be adjourned in the late afternoon when he became angry during questioning by prosecution lawyer Carrington Mahoney.

As he was asked to give details of the abuse he inflicted on Ms Trott, Liburd said in the presence of the jury: ?This guys looking for stuff, he?s playing games,? while cursing under his breath.

Liburd, who is under heavy guard by prison officers, was surrounded and escorted out of the court room after briefly exchanging words with his lawyer John Perry, QC.

Liburd has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility.

Defence lawyers must convince the jury that he was suffering from an abnormality of the mind at the time of the killing which impaired his judgement.

Mr. Perry opened his case by asking about the relationship he had with Ms Trott in August 2002. Liburd and Ms Trott had known each other since the early 1990s but began a romantic relationship while he was in prison in 2002.

They stayed in contact through letters, telephone calls, and photographs, and Ms Trott visited Liburd while he was in prison. After his release in April 2002 they met up and spent a weekend at the Sonesta Beach hotel.

?How did you feel about Ms Trott,? asked Mr. Perry.

?I loved Ms Trott, she was a very good person,? Liburd replied.

?How did she make you feel??

?Good inside, special,? he said.

?How is it that you came to stab Ms Trott a number of times,? asked Mr. Perry.

?It was the way I felt, I was in love, I was very emotional, I was jealous,? said Liburd.

?Did you have any reason to think she was unfaithful??

?No,? said Liburd.

Mr. Perry then asked Liburd if the term ?acting out? meant anything to him.

?Yes, acting out means the way I was brought up, acting violently towards people.?

Liburd then told the crowded court room that his violent upbringing had a tremendous effect Continued from Page 1

?Do you accept that Ms Trott did nothing to you to justify what you did to her on August 9,? said Mr. Perry.

?Yes,? said Liburd.

?Why did you do it??

?I did it because I knew no other way of dealing with it, that was the way I was raised, its practically all I know. I don?t enjoy it, it doesn?t make me feel good doing it,? he replied.

Liburd said Ms Trott began to withdraw from him as the fighting and arguments continued, but he told the jury he had no indication that she wanted the relationship to end, despite a protection order, since they kept in contact by telephone.

?Did you see the relationship as having come to an end?? asked Mr. Perry.

?No, I did not,? said Liburd. ?She never told me so.?

Liburd said he met Ms Trott at the Crawl Esso gas station on August 9 to get back his cellular phone and to talk to her, despite a protection order against him which prevented Liburd from having any contact with Ms Trott or her children.

?Did she say anything to provoke you,? asked Mr. Perry.

?No, she did not,? said Liburd.

Prosecution lawyers maintain that he told Dr. Paul Harlow of the abuse he inflicted on Ms Trott during their relationship, including a violent incident in July 2002.

?Is it true that on one occasion you dragged Ms Trott out of her house by her hair?? asked Mr. Mahoney.

Liburd admitted he did this, and the court also heard that one of Ms Trott?s cousins had her jaw broken as she attempted to save her relative who was crying out for help.

?Police came and took me that night,? said Liburd.

Liburd went on to admit violently battering women while claiming he was in love with them.

Liburd was also asked by prosecution lawyers to give details of his relationships with other women who he admitted beating in fits of rage. He has past convictions dating back to 1994 when he was convicted of wounding Stacey Lathan and causing unlawful bodily harm to Charmaine Simmons as well as committing unlawful assault on a Police officer.

In 1994 he was also convicted of breaking and entering the dwelling of Ms Lathan. In 1997 he was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to McKeisha Thompson.

The court also heard that he abused another girlfriend Keema Laws. In one incident in July 1994 he beat her so badly that she suffered from lacerations on her face and lip while three teeth were dislocated as he beat her.

Liburd claims the abuse was the result of an abusive childhood.

Liburd, the middle of three children, said his father abused him, his mother, and his two sisters regularly at least three times a week. The relationship between his mother and father was on and off, however his father would visit his mother at their Marsh Folly home when he was a young child.

The five man seven woman jury heard that Liburd was punched, kicked and slapped by his father from the time he was a young child until his early 20s.

His father was often drunk at home, according to Liburd, and he would slap and beat him using sticks and a belt.

?Was blood drawn,? asked Mr. Perry, to which Liburd responded yes.

The defendant told the court that one particular incident of abuse was unforgettable.

?He took me to a place on Palmetto Road, he kicked punched and slapped me and threw me on the top of the car,? said Liburd.

In another incident Liburd?s father told him to go and look for a stick and not to bring back anything small.

?I found the stick, I returned and he beat me with it all over my body,? he said.

The mood during yesterday?s trial was tense as members of Liburd?s and Ms Trott?s families sat on opposite sides of the court. Ms Trott?s two daughters and a close friend wore a badge with her picture and the words, ?Chena, always in our hearts?.