Natalie Jarvis murder co-accused Tom Fuller tells court he could have saved her

Miss Jarvis was found dead on the ground in Swanley Village Road after suffering more than 20 stab wounds on October 3.

Thomas Fuller, 23, of Oakley Drive, Eltham, told the jury at Maidstone Crown Court he hid in the boot of Adam Whelehan’s car to eavesdrop on his conversation with Miss Jarvis.

The prosecution alleges Fuller was Whelehan’s “getaway driver” and was there to aid Whelehan in his attack on Miss Jarvis.

Defence counsel for Whelehan, Sasha Wass QC told Fuller: “You were a physically fit man able to handle yourself.

“And he was off to meet Natalie Jarvis, who was a big girl.

“An unarmed Natalie could have held her own in a struggle with Adam.

“Adam wanted you there in case he was attacked. You were there to watch his back.”

Fuller denied this and claims he was in the boot to hear if Miss Jarvis made any comments regarding his deceased father, who he lost to cancer in June 2011.

However, in his initial statement to the police on October 4 last year, he said he was there to provide protection for Whelehan.

Miss Wass asked: “By the time you got into the car you didn’t think for a moment that Natalie was going to get killed that night?”

Fuller replied: “No, not at first.”

Miss Wass continued: “If a time had come when your best friend was going to kill someone, you could have stopped it, couldn’t you?

“You could’ve stopped a girl from being killed?”

Fuller said: “It’s what I should’ve done, but I didn’t.”

Miss Wass said: “The fact you never did that was that you never thought for a moment that was what Adam was going to do. Because none of this was part of Adam’s plan at all.”

At 8.40pm on October 3, Fuller sent a message to a friend that read: “It’s all got out of hand. I’m going to go down for this.”

Fuller said: “Something that was going on made me send a message like that.”

But Miss Wass argued that at that stage, Miss Jarvis had yet to enter the car and there was no need for concern on Fuller’s part.

She said: “If you thought when you sent those texts that Adam was going to kill Natalie, you would’ve banged on the door of the boot and tried to stop it.

“You would’ve done something about it?”

Fuller said: “I remember just being scared in the boot.”

He added he was worried about the situation he was involved in.

Miss Wass said: “There was a time when the car was empty - you could’ve run away from the situation couldn’t you? But you didn’t?

“You are lying to the jury about what you thought was going to happen and you are upping Adam’s involvement to distance yourself from Adam now.”

Fuller said: “It was a traumatic incident that I tried to block out of my head.”

When Miss Wass asked whether he believed Whelehan was going to kill Natalie that night, Fuller said it was “a possibility.”

Miss Wass asked: “So what did you do to stop it?”

Fuller replied: “I bottled it and stayed in the car.”

He added: “I made a bad decision that’s cost someone their life.”

Whelehan, also 23, of Roseberry Gardens, has admitted killing Miss Jarvis “in lawful self defence”.

The prosecution alleges Whelehan murdered Miss Jarvis because he "wanted out of the relationship and the only way out he could see was to kill her".

The court has heard Whelehan picked up Miss Jarvis from her home with friend Fuller hiding in the boot of his car at about 10.30pm on October 3 last year.

He drove to a country lane car park in Swanley Village before getting out with Miss Jarvis about 10.50pm and "by the time he returned to the car, then driven by Fuller, she lay dead".

Miss Jarvis was found dead on the ground in Swanley Village Road after suffering more than 20 stab wounds.

Whelehan and Fuller deny murder.

The trial continues.