THE trial of a Newton Abbot man for allegedly 'battering' another to death has been told by the defendant's girlfriend she was unable to explain why she and the deceased had been found at the scene by emergency personnel in a state of undress.

Neither could she say why she had woken to find herself with 'significant' facial injuries and damaged ribs.

Giving evidence to Mr Justice Evans from behind a screen on the second day of the trial at Exeter Crown Court, Dawn Lewis said she and Bryan Harris had been living temporarily on the floor of Paul Drury's Newton Abbot home in Valley Path when he was found dead on the evening of November 13 last year.

The pair had been forced to move from Miss Lewis' Wolborough Street, Newton Abbot, flat after a closure notice was served for persistent anti-social behaviour involving drink and drugs.

Mr Drury, 32, whom Miss Lewis had known for several years, had been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome and had never worked.

He could get agitated and quite loud, so Miss Lewis would talk calmly with him and sometimes give him a cuddle, as she had the night before he was found dead.

Harris, whose address was given as Valley Path, denies murdering Mr Drury. He also denies attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to Ms Lewis with intent. The trial contnues.