Tracey Woodford murder: Former butcher 'murdered woman and had sex with her body before hacking her into pieces'

'It seems that his experience in the butcher's shop had been put to use on a human body'

Photo issued by South Wales Police of Tracey Woodford, whose dismembered body was found at a flat in south Wales (PA)

A former butcher "displayed" the severed head of his victim deep inside a dark underground tunnel, Cardiff Crown Court has heard.

Christopher Nigel May strangled Tracey Woodford, 47, to death and had sex with her body before hacking her into pieces.

Her head was later discovered lying on its side 138 metres inside a storm drain near Pontypridd rugby club.

Prosecutor Roger Thomas QC described how officers made the grisly discovery.

"One does have to consider what this involved: the defendant carrying a body part and a human head across Pontypridd into a dark tunnel, walking in for 138 metres," he said. "What was the purpose of displaying the head in that manner [on a ledge] ... Why would a man behave in this way with a woman's head?

"It's a very strange thing to have done - to put a head in this location."

The court heard May used to be a butcher. A colleague described him as "very good" at using boning knives, removing ligaments and spinal columns.

"It seems that his experience in the butcher's shop had been put to use on a human body," the prosecutor said.

May, 50, admits causing Tracey Woodford's death but denies murder.

The trial continues.

Additional reporting by Press Association