Woman, 45, who was living in BDSM threesome with husband and wife did not look pregnant before having an illegal abortion, court hears
There was absolutely no indication a woman accused of having an illegal abortion was pregnant in the weeks leading up to her miscarriage, a court has been told.
There was absolutely no indication a woman accused of having an illegal abortion was pregnant in the weeks leading up to her miscarriage, a court has been told.
Nicola Packer, 45, allegedly took abortion medication at home on November 6 2020 and went to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital the following day, Isleworth Crown Court heard.
She is charged with unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing with the intent to procure a miscarriage.
Packer denies the charges and claims she believed she was less than 10 weeks pregnant at the time of taking the abortion medication.
The court has heard Packer had been in a bondage, dominance and submission (BDSM) relationship with a husband and wife, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
All three had been in the BDSM scene and lived together from when the UK went into lockdown in March 2020 and for parts of that year, the court heard.
Giving evidence by video-link on Friday, the wife told jurors Packer - who she called Nicky - stayed with her and her husband.
The court heard the wife was living in the same place as Packer in October and November 2020 and often saw her without her clothes on.
There was absolutely no indication Nicola Packer, 45, who is accused of administering an illegal abortion, was pregnant in the weeks leading up to her miscarriage, a court has heard
Packer, pictured yesterday outside Isleworth Crown Court, west London, denies the charges and claims she believed she was less than 10 weeks pregnant at the time of taking the abortion medication
Asked by Fiona Horlick KC, defending Packer, whether there was any indication that Packer was pregnant by looking at her, the wife said: Absolutely none.
The wife told the court: She had a period sometime in October and asked to borrow a tampon, she was taking the (contraceptive) pill.
Jurors heard the trio would drink alcohol together, and the wife said Packers drinking habits did not change in the lead up to her miscarriage.
Packer, then 41, took prescribed medications mifepristone and misoprostol when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, the court has heard.
The legal limit for at-home abortions is 10 weeks.
It is alleged she knew she had been pregnant for more than 10 weeks.
Packer, who sat near her defence team in the court room, denies the charge and claims she did not believe she had been pregnant for that long, the court heard.
The typical full gestation term is 40 weeks and the outer limit for abortions in the UK is 24 weeks.
The court previously heard that Packer allegedly carried the foetus into Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a backpack
The wife told jurors her husband and Packer had a friends with benefits relationship, but at the time she believed they were not having sexual intercourse.
She told the court she and Packer had a close friendship and she knew Packer did not want children.
Packer said she learned about the pregnancy on November 2 2020, the court heard.
The defendant contacted Marie Stopes, one of the worlds largest providers of contraception and abortions, that morning and tried to book an appointment for an abortion.
Searches on her phone after calling the clinic included is at home abortion treatment effective up to 12 weeks and abortion limit UK, DC Lucy Gallimore told the court.
On November 5, 2020 the defendants phone records has searched on the internet for signs of ectopic pregnancy, jurors heard.
Packer allegedly took abortion medication the next day, the court heard.
The wife told jurors Packer had not been feeling well and had bouts of endometriosis which caused her pain.
At Isleworth Crown Court, Packer denied unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing with the intent to procure a miscarriage
She said her husband took Packer to hospital on November 7 for what she thought was an appointment.
I assumed it was for endometriosis, which Nicky suffered from and I knew she had been complaining about it and suffering pains for a long time, the wife told the court.
The defendant told the husband she needed an operation and would stay in hospital overnight, the court heard.
Jurors previously heard Packer told two midwives on November 8 that she had taken abortion pills received in the post from Marie Stopes.
Packer said she thought she was less than 10 weeks pregnant and when she had looked into the toilet bowl she saw something larger than she had expected, the court heard.
She is then said to have arrived at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital carrying a foetus in her backpack and told doctors that she had miscarried, a court previously heard. Police arrested her later that day.
The trial, set to last four to five weeks, continues on Monday.