Jealous man ambushed his former girlfriend and drowned her in woodland stream before confessing 'I killed Natalie' in a text to his friend - after wrongly believing she had cheated on him, court hears

A jealous ex-lover ambushed his former girlfriend and drowned her in a woodland stream before texting his friend 'I killed Natalie' after wrongly believing she had cheated on him, a court has heard.

Natalie Harker, 30, a devout church goer, was allegedly snatched from her bicycle as she cycled to work by former Tesco worker Andrew Pearson, 45, who she had dumped weeks earlier.

She had become so worried about Pearson that she physically shook when speaking about the chance of accidentally bumping into him and told a work colleague she was being pestered as she cycled home, jurors were told.

She asked the caretaker at the college where she worked as a cleaner to intervene if he saw her with a man in the street, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Natalie Harker (pictured right), 30, was allegedly snatched from her bicycle as she cycled to work by former Tesco worker Andrew Pearson , 45, who she had dumped weeks earlier

But Pearson is alleged to have lain in wait for Ms Harker at 4.30am on October 9 last year on the route she always took to begin her 5am shift at a medical centre.

He snatched her from her bike, hid it from view in a roadside field and dragged her to a stream next to a den in the woods where he had pitched a tent, before holding her under the shallow water by her neck until she was dead, jurors were told.

The court heard that Pearson sent a text message to his friend James Garrity in America afterwards, telling him: 'Goodbye, I have killed Natalie, I am going to hand myself in.'

The only other person he notified was said to have been his mother, pretending Natalie had fallen into the water by accident, and it was his mother who called the police.

Natalie's naked body was found in his tent and a post mortem examination found he had intercourse with her, possibly after her death, it is alleged.

Pearson is said to have refused to accept that their 18-month relationship was over when Natalie broke up with him, partly because he was unable to pay his own way to join her on a short holiday at Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire.

A handout photo issued by North Yorkshire Police of Ms Harker, who left her parents' home in Colburn before dawn and never arrived at work on October 9 last year

Natalie made the trip on her own and when she arrived home to Colburn, North Yorkshire, in August of last year she told her mother, Deborah, that she was going to break up with Pearson.

But when she did, Pearson refused to accept it was over and began obsessing over his belief she was seeing someone else - a Tesco delivery driver named in court as Mr Taylor.

The court was told that Pearson confronted the man he considered to be his love rival at the store in Catterick, North Yorkshire.

Prosecutor Alistair MacDonald, QC, said Pearson made it clear to him that he believed Mr Taylor and Natalie were together.

He said he was going to post on Facebook that Natalie had been stringing him along and he urged Mr Taylor to also post on Facebook that Natalie had done the same to him, jurors were told.

The court heard Natalie and Mr Taylor were not a couple, with the extent of their relationship being a day trip to Whitby as friends some time in the past.

Pearson was also alleged to have pestered his neighbour Kayleigh Donnelly, telling her his break-up with Natalie had left him 'depressed and angry' and that he thought she was cheating on him.

After doing so he made unwelcome advances on Miss Donnelly and asked her on a date, the court heard.

Mr MacDonald told the court: 'This defendant was very angry with Natalie and cooked up in his mind this idea that she had cheated on him and wronged him.

Ms Harker had become so worried about Pearson (both pictured above) that she physically shook when speaking about the chance of accidentally bumping into him, jurors were told

'It demonstrates the depth of his resentment towards her and his deviousness in trying to get Mr Taylor to say on Facebook that she had also wronged him as well.

'It was an attempt to denigrate Natalie on Facebook and to boost his ego.'

He showed the jury 'sarcastic, wounding and wholly false' posts that Pearson had put on Facebook claiming Natalie had wronged him while he'd been 'a perfect gentleman.'

He said that Natale's anxiety about Pearson had become obvious after she ended their relationship at the end of August last year.

She had been thinking of joining an aqua aerobics class at a local leisure centre but told her brother she was frightened of bumping into him because he liked to swim there.

Mr MacDonald said: 'She was shaking physically and scratching her arms as she spoke to her brother.'

Natalie also expressed concern to a caretaker at Risedale College, Catterick, where she worked the second of her shifts later in the day after finishing work at the health centre.

Mr MacDonald told the jury: 'She told him she was having trouble with someone on the hill on the way home and if the caretaker saw her with a man she asked him to stop and make sure she was alright.

'She did not name this man but it is for you to decide whether it was the defendant she was talking about.'

The court heard Natalie had been in a relationship with Pearson for 18 months after meeting when both worked at the Tesco store.

Her parents were concerned about the 15-year age gap and also did not like Pearson.

Ms Harker's body was found at Horse Park Wood, above, near Colburn last year. A post-mortem examination found Pearson had intercourse with her, possible after her death, a court heard

The court heard friends said she was happier after ending the relationship and started to dress differently. She had taken an evangelical Alpha course at her local church and appeared happy and excited after her confirmation.

But she remained anxious about Pearson and his mother. In text messages between Ms Harker and Pearson that were read to the court, she said she had been receiving 'guilt-laden' messages from his mother.

And she told friends she had been receiving 'horrible' messages from Pearson and his mother which were 'very scary.'

Mr MacDonald said: 'Friends say Natalie had lost weight, started looking smarter and wearing make-up. She told a former colleague her boyfriend had not liked her wearing make-up.'

She also told friends that Pearson had been harassing her elderly neighbour to try to find out where she had been and how she was spending her time.

In a text message she warned him 'don't try to see me on my way to work or I will have to take it further and talk to the police.'

Pearson complained to people at the local leisure centre that Natalie's mother did not like him and thought he was a 'layabout'.

He told people they were taking a break with a view to possibly rekindling their relationship.

Pearson told emergency service staff that Natalie had stopped en route to work on the day she died to take a walk with him in the dark by the stream and had accidentally fallen in, dragging him down with her.

He claimed that he stripped her naked as he performed CPR and that having done so he passed out, coming to hours later to find she was 'purple.'

The prosecution told the court that evidence from a fitness tracking app on his mobile phone discovered he was active and moving around during the time he claimed to be unconscious. 

Pearson, of Brompton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire, denies murder and kidnap.

The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.