A BRITISH woman has made her first court statement- six months after being arrested by the Policia Nacional for strangling her Benidorm flatmate with a vacuum cleaner cord.

The unnamed 64-year-old detainee appeared in a city court at ‘her own request’ after previously staying silent, which is her legal right in Spain.

The Informacion newspaper reported that she told a judge that ‘she had gone out of her mind’ after allegedly suffering abuse during her short period of cohabitation.

POLICIA NACIONAL, BENIDORM

Catherine Peckham, 66, from Cork, was killed on the night of last September 17 in her own flat in the Rincon de Loix area of Benidorm- often dubbed as the ‘English Zone’.

The police at the time said she died after being strangled with the cable of a vacuum cleaner.

The British woman was arrested and remanded into custody on suspicion of homicide.

She had only moved in with Peckham four days earlier after being offered a place to stay while searching for her own flat.

Neighbours reported the pair had intended to live together until October, but arguments quickly broke out.

The suspect, who has not been named by Spanish police, is reported to have confessed immediately after her arrest.

She later refused to answer questions, saying she was in shock when she appeared before a judge who remanded her in custody.

Informacion stated that she voluntarily agreed to testify at the Benidorm courthouse after not stating any officially since September’s incident.

Her statement lasted for around an hour because she had to use an interpreter.

The Brit said she had arrived in Spain and struggled to find anywhere to stay before meeting Catherine Peckham who offered her a room in her home.

But the flat-share did not go well from the start with the assailant telling the judge that she had been subjected to periods of abuse but added that they were no especially ‘serious aggressions’.

She added that the situation was not helped by the victim’s alcohol consumption.

The woman admitted to strangling Peckham with the vacuum cleaner cord and she then phoned a friend to tell her what happened and ask for advice.

She said she should turn herself into the police and confess to what had happened.

The British woman was returned to prison following her statement with a trial date still pending plus the potential of a plea bargain deal which would stop a jury trial from taking place.
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