A volunteer coastguard is accused of murdering his live-in partner and then staging her death to look like a suicide, a court heard.
Rowan Sutton, 31, allegedly ran over Aimee Pike in the dark in the countryside and then transported her body to another location in a second car, the jury was told at Plymouth Crown Court. Prosecutor James Dawes KC stated that Sutton then placed Ms. Pike's body on a low wall on a main road at approximately 4 a.m., waiting for a vehicle to pass to stage a fatal accident.
Mr. Dawes explained that Sutton filmed a passing van and then positioned Ms. Pike's body on the road, engaging in a one-way fake conversation with her, saying "don't do it, stay there" and shouting "Aimee" as the van went by. The prosecution's case is that the relationship was characterized by "controlling and coercive behavior."
Jurors were told that Sutton and Ms. Pike, 22, were splitting up after five years together, but Sutton feared losing access to their child. The court heard that Sutton spread false rumors that Ms. Pike was suicidal, telling her family and coastguard colleagues that she was erratic and suffering from mental health issues.
According to the prosecution, Sutton's plan was to fake Ms. Pike's suicide to maintain exclusive access to their child. The couple lived in the same flat in West Charleton, Devon, at the time of Ms. Pike's death in the early hours of April 23, 2025.
Allegations of Abuse and Deception
The jury heard that Sutton was prone to "bouts of intense anger" and had been controlling and coercive towards Ms. Pike. Three weeks before her death, and a week after they had separated, Sutton allegedly sexually assaulted Ms. Pike as she slept and filmed the attack. The court also heard that Sutton had installed a secret camera in a clock in his caravan to record Ms. Pike.
Ms. Pike died after Sutton drove her six miles to his caravan. The prosecution alleges that after dropping her off, Sutton returned home, parked out of sight of CCTV, and later drove towards the caravan via a route designed to avoid cameras. He reportedly left his phone at home and removed a dashcam from his Land Rover to create an alibi.
"He went there not to check on Aimee but to murder her," Mr. Dawes told the jury. "The injuries to Aimee would suggest he ran her down in that Land Rover in the darkness in the countryside somewhere. There were no witnesses to this killing."
Mr. Dawes stated that Sutton moved the body after the alleged killing, and then transported it in his Skoda car to the A379 Embankment Road at New Bridge, Kingsbridge, to stage the accident.
Sutton denies murdering Ms. Pike and the alleged sexual assault. The trial is ongoing, and the jury is scheduled to visit the scene with legal teams.