Killer declines to give evidence for fear of seeming "crazy"

Hajrudin Hasanovic, 33, denies murdering Cassandra Hasanovic, 24, in the street outside her mother's house on July 29 last year.

Lewes Crown Court jury previously heard how Hasanovic attacked her after he found out he had lost his custody battle and was being deported to Serbia.

Mrs Hasanovic had repeatedly told police and her family about abuse during their five-year marriage and she had been granted a court injunction designed to stop him harassing her.

She even fled to Australia to be near relatives but was forced to return to the UK in February last year after he started legal proceedings to try to gain custody of their two sons.

On Monday jurors heard evidence from Dr Duncan Anderson, a consultant forensic psychiatrist who assessed Hasanovic's state of mind during a brief consultation in the cells prior to proceedings.

He said the defendant is fit to take to the stand to give evidence but did not want to for fear of seeming "crazy".

Dr Anderson, who also assessed Hasanovic in September last year while he was on remand, said: "He said that he was okay talking to me and to his solicitors but he felt that if he went into court he would be overwhelmed and panic.

The accused may have contemplated suicide, Dr Anderson said, and added that he had judged Hasanovic to be severely depressed when he assessed him last September.

Hasanovic, who lives in Prescott Close, Guston, near Dover, Kent, denies murder but admits manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

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