A former nightclub doorman accused of murdering his cousin's heavily-pregnant girlfriend has described a sex session he had with her just hours before she was brutally stabbed as "just one of those things".
Carl Whant, 27, was giving evidence at Newport Crown Court, South Wales, where he denied killing 19-year-old Nikitta Grender and her unborn child, Kelsey May.
Miss Grender's charred body was found in her flat last February just two weeks before she was due to give birth.
A post-mortem examination later revealed Whant's semen was found inside the body of Miss Grender.
Flanked by two security guards, the defendant walked to the witness box - past the packed public gallery containing Miss Grender's parents as well as her boyfriend Ryan Mayes - to testify.
Whant, who also denies rape and arson, said had been invited by Mr Mayes to have sex with Miss Grender before his cousin left the room to do the ironing.
And as well as detailing his fling with the mother-to-be, the defendant also said it was not the first time he and Mr Mayes had "shared" a girl.
Whant, who worked as a double glazing salesman alongside his cousin, said he had taken Mr Mayes back to the flat he shared with Miss Grender in Broadmead Park, Lliswerry, Newport, on 4 February last year after their shift had finished.
After spending five to 10 minutes on his own having a cigarette, he said he heard Mr Mayes ask him to come into the bedroom.
Whant, who suffers from a bad stammer, told the court: "I opened the bedroom door and asked 'what do you want' and I saw Ryan having sex with Nikitta.
"He asked me if I wanted to 'have a go' - to have sex.
"He got up - I thought he was still in the bedroom, but afterwards (I found out) he was in the kitchen ironing his jeans.
"It was just one of those things, it just happened."
Miss Grender was found dead at her flat on 5 February.
A post-mortem examination revealed that her throat had been slashed and she had also been stabbed in her heavily pregnant abdomen.
Her upstairs two-bedroom flat, which contained a nursery ready for the arrival of Kelsey May, was then set alight.
The court has previously heard that the slow-burning fire went on for around two hours before a neighbour, who had been asleep in her home below, noticed and called the fire brigade.
Forensic scientists believe Miss Grender and the unborn baby were dead before the flat was torched.
In opening the defence case, Christopher Kinch QC asked Whant in turn whether he had murdered Miss Grender, killed her child, raped her and set her flat on fire.
In reply to each question, he replied: "No."
He also said he had learned through other people that Miss Grender "was not keen" on him - but three years previously the pair had met up for around 10 to 15 minutes when they had kissed.
Whant added that this had been the only previous occasion where he and his girlfriend's cousin had been alone together.
Whant said that when this happened he believed Mr Mayes and Miss Grender - who were previously described as having an "on-off" relationship - were not together.
He also told Mr Kinch that he had not been obsessed or infatuated with Miss Grender - adding that she "seemed willing" at Mr Mayes' suggestion for them to have sex.
When asked whether anything like this had happened before, Whant replied: "Sort of, yes."
He then gave details of how he awoke on the sofa during a house party to see Mr Mayes having sex with a girl.
Whant claimed that after Mr Mayes had finished, the girl invited him to have intercourse with her - while his cousin played computer games.
Whant, who gave "no comment" responses in his first six police interviews, told the jury he initially lied to police when asked whether he had ever had sex with Miss Grender.
The father of one told Mr Kinch he had denied doing so because he was embarrassed he had cheated on his girlfriend Rachel Bird - something Whant added that he "had never done" before.
He also said on the night before Miss Grender's murder he was supposed to have been at home making food for Miss Bird - but instead opted to go out drinking and taking drugs with friends.
Whant said he had done around six to seven lines of cocaine, taken the banned substance "M-cat" and drunk alcohol.
Speaking about his drug use, the defendant said: "I started taking cocaine when I was about 21.
"In the past I used to take it all the time, but in the past two years it was hardly ever.
"It made me feel high and confident."
Whant said the decision not to stick to the arrangements he had made with his girlfriend was not a conscious one and he simply had "ended up going out" with Mr Mayes and another friend.
After watching the Wales v England rugby international, the group made their way to a pub named as the Greyhound.
The jury was shown CCTV footage inside the premises, where he said he had been talking to two doormen he knew.
"I used to work on the doors there myself," he added.
Whant described the pub as very busy and he was upset by an unknown Asian man, who had spilled his pint.
He said this led to him getting scratch-like marks on his right wrist.
A girl tried to stop him pursuing the man and grabbed him by the arm, Whant said.
The jury was shown photographs of the marks taken by police, as well as a light bruise near to his elbow.
"I haven't got a clue how they got there," said Whant of the bruises.
With two girls and two other male friends in tow, the group later ended up going to a house party in Corelli Street.
Whant said Mr Mayes went to a room with another girl - named in court as Elizabeth Taylor - and he spent some time on social networking site Facebook.
When it was discovered that no one in the house had any cigarettes left, the jury heard from the defendant that he decided to drive to his grandmother's house to pick some up.
Explaining the amount of time as well as the route he took, Whant said: "On a Friday and Saturday there is a strong police presence around the town.
"I didn't want to get pulled over because I had been drinking as well as taking cocaine."
After trying unsuccessfully to wake his grandmother, Whant returned to Corelli Street empty-handed and later slept on the sofa.
A few hours later, Whant said he drove Mr Mayes back to his flat in Broadmead Park where there were "police and fire engines everywhere".
Floral tributes to mother-to-be Nikitta Grender and her unborn baby.