Witness heard 'seven minutes of desperate screams' on night 21-year-old student Libby Squire 'was raped and murdered in park by Polish butcher'

The jury in the trial of a butcher accused of raping and murdering a 21-year-old student has heard a witness describe hearing screams of 'desperation' lasting up to seven minutes on the night she disappeared.

The prosecution alleges that the Hull resident woke up and saw out of his window the defendant Pawel Relowicz, 26, 'moving with purpose' away from the scene.

The Polish-born father of-two, from Raglan Street, Hull, denies murdering and raping 21-year-old philosophy student Libby Squire, who went missing following a night out in February 2019.

Sheffield Crown Court was told witness Sam Alford, whose home overlooks Oak Road playing fields, recalled being woken shortly after midnight. A couple of minutes after waking, he heard screams, the jury was told.

The court was also given a toxicology report, which showed Libby had 198mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, while the legal driving limit is 80mg.

A witness has told Sheffield Crown Court hearing screams of 'desperation' on the night Libby Squire, 21, disappeared. Pawel Relowicz, 26, has been charged with her rape and murder

Pathologist Dr Matt Lyall also told the court sperm cells were recovered from Ms Squire's body which matched Relowicz's DNA profile.

He said the cause of death was 'unascertained' as a clear determination was impossible after her body had been in water for seven weeks.

Dr Lyall said hypothermia, drowning, strangulation or asphyxia were all possible, in his conclusion. 

Witness Mr Alford said he often heard noise from the park because it was a student area with young people gathering there, so he ignored the first screams.

But the noise was intermittent and he heard more screaming coming from the playing fields.

Mr Alford said: 'I could tell they were human, I could tell it was a female scream. The screams were enough to make me think 'what could that be?'

'It was not constant, it was intermittent, that's what stood out to me.'

The Polish-born father of-two, from Raglan Street, Hull, denies murdering and raping 21-year-old philosophy student Libby Squire, who went missing following a night out in the city in February 2019

Richard Wright QC, prosecuting, asked what the screams conveyed to him. Mr Alford replied: 'Like, desperation.'

He said the screaming went on for an estimated four to seven minutes. After going to the toilet briefly, he looked out of his window, on to a skate park, but could not see anything initially.

Mr Alford said there was a full moon and snow, so the visibility was good, and after a few minutes he saw a man crossing the park.

He told the jury: 'There was an urgency about the way he was moving. He was moving with a purpose, he didn't look back once.'

Ms Squire - who was a student at the University of Hull but originally from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire - had been refused entry to a nightclub because she was drunk, and had been given offers of help by people on the night she went missing

The man was wearing tightly-fitted joggers or jeans, Mr Alford said, and a bomber jacket, and did not look appropriately dressed for the weather that night. 

The prosecution allege that Relowicz took Ms Squire to the secluded playing fields after picking her up in his car and that he raped and murdered her there.

Ms Squire - who was a student at the University of Hull but originally from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire - had been refused entry to a nightclub because she was drunk, and had been given offers of help by people on the night she went missing.

The prosecution allege the defendant was 'prowling around the student area' looking for an opportunity to commit a sexual offence against a vulnerable young woman. 

Yesterday the court was shown CCTV of what the prosecution say is the moment Relowicz first spotted Ms Squire as she sat on a wall alone on Beverley Road.

He then walked in the shadows in an attempt to avoid raising her suspicions, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

The prosecution say Relowicz 'stalked' Ms Squire from the opposite side of the street before 'darting' over to intercept her. 

He then drove Ms Squire to the Oak Road playing fields where he raped and murdered her, the court heard. 

The prosecution said he put Ms Squire's body in the River Hull. She was found weeks later in the Humber estuary.

The trial continues.

CCTV timeline of the night Libby Squire disappeared 

Around 11.20pm on January 31 - Ms Squire and her friends are seen arriving at The Welly nightclub on Beverley Road.

11.21pm - footage from inside the entrance to The Welly shows Ms Squire standing to one side speaking to her friends after being refused entry.

11.26pm - Ms Squire's friends are seen walking into The Welly and a taxi, containing Ms Squire, is seen setting off behind them.

11.26pm to 11.52pm - Relowicz drives his silver Vauxhall Astra from Cranbrook Avenue to Haworth Street - with a 20-minute stop in Alexandra Road.

Richard Wright QC, prosecuting, said: 'The journey from Cranbrook Avenue to Haworth Street is not an unbroken journey in time. There's a period of time when the vehicle stops again in Alexandra Road.'

11.29pm - CCTV footage shows Ms Squire's taxi turning from Beverley Road on to Wellesley Avenue, where she lived with three other students, the court heard.

The prosecution say Relowicz then 'stalked' Ms Squire from the opposite side of the street before 'darting' over to intercept her

11.34pm - Mr Grandidge showed footage of Ms Squire at the door of a house on Wellesley Avenue, near its junction with Beverley Road.

The jury has heard that Ms Squire went into this house after one of its residents heard her crying outside.

11.36pm - Ms Squire is seen leaving the house and walking on to Beverley Road. She crosses the road and continues towards the junction with Haworth Street.

11.39pm - Ms Squire is seen falling to the ground.

Dashcam footage captured by a passing motorist shows Ms Squire on the pavement, 'very close' to the kerb.

11.40pm - footage shows a silver Citroen Picasso, containing Roland Jacobs and Alan Jones, stopping and Mr Jacobs getting out and walking to Ms Squire. He is seen helping her up off the ground before sitting her on a wall.

11.49pm - Mr Jacobs and Mr Jones drive away in the Citroen. The jury has heard that Mr Jacobs could not understand Ms Squire, who started to swear at him, and they left after trying to help for just short of 10 minutes.

11.52pm - another passer-by, Lorna Allen, is seen approaching Ms Squire.

11.57pm - Relowicz is seen getting out of his car on Haworth Street and walking on to Beverley Road past Ms Squire, crossing the road, and going out of sight into Beresford Avenue.

11.59pm - Ms Squire is seen walking down Beverley Road. Mr Wright described her as 'moving from side to side on the pavement' and Mr Grandidge told the jury she 'stumbled' on to the road at one point.

Thirty seconds later, Relowicz leaves Beresford Avenue and walks in the same direction on the opposite side of the road. After around half a minute, he crosses the road and 'intercepts' Ms Squire. They both disappear into the grounds of a former nunnery.

12.01am February 1 - Mr Wright told the jury that Ms Squire and Relowicz are seen emerging from the grounds after 58 seconds and walking back up Beverley Road.

12.02am - one minute and nine seconds later, they reach the entrance to Haworth Street.

12.03am - Relowicz returns to his car and is seen sitting in the driver's seat with his feet outside the vehicle.

12.06am - a Renault Scenic, which has been parked in Haworth Street, leaves and Relowicz is seen standing up and walking towards Beverley Road.

The jury was shown enhanced footage from a camera on Haworth Street showing two figures walking across the end of the street before appearing to stand together and then moving towards Relowicz's car.

Footage from another camera showed Ms Squire's leg stepping into the passenger side of the car before she enters and sits down. Relowicz is then seen coming to the driver's side and getting into the car.

12.08am - the vehicle leaves Haworth Street and is seen on CCTV footage travelling to Oak Road playing fields.