A JEALOUS bodybuilder battered his escort wife to death after she had sex with a client in front of him, a court heard.
Joaquin Gomez-Hernandez, 24, burst into tears after witnessing transgender Vanessa Santillan with a man at their flat.
He allegedly wept as he told his 33-year-old wife: “It’s like you don’t take me seriously.”
Later that day Mexican-born Gomez-Hernandez dialled 999 and flagged down an ambulance outside the couple’s flat in Fulham, South West London.
Paramedics found Vanessa lying half-naked on the floor in the lounge next to a used condom and broken false fingernails.
A total of £13,000 — the proceeds from her escort work — was also discovered in the flat.
She had visible injuries to her face and the postmortem later revealed she had suffered “blunt force trauma to her head and neck”.
Gomez-Hernandez told police he left his wife in bed to go shopping and suggested she was murdered by a client, jurors were told.
The Old Bailey heard Gomez-Hernandez was nicknamed ‘Coco’ and came to the UK with his wife two months before the murder.
Vanessa was described by prosecutor Brendan Finucane QC as “a post-operative transgender” who was working as a female escort throughout her marriage to Gomez-Hernandez.
Mr Finucane added: “Although there is evidence they were loving towards each other, there is some evidence of discord.”
Jurors heard Vanessa controlled the relationship and Gomez-Hernandez had to ask her for money to buy clothes and food because he did not work.
One friend claimed Gomez-Hernandez “was very jealous and tried to exert some power and control but did not succeed”, the court heard.
On the evening of 27 March this year the couple went out clubbing with some friends and returned to Vanessa’s flat in the early hours of the morning to continue drinking wine and champagne.
At around 5am Vanessa was contacted by a male client via the backpage.com website.
He become angry and left at around 7am to continue drinking at a friends’ flat in Romily Court while Vanessa remained behind, jurors heard.
CCTV footage captured Gomez-Hernandez walking away from Romily Court with a blue bag at 2.52pm, it is claimed.
When he visited Sainsbury’s in Fulham a member of staff noticed he had a large amount of money in £20 and £50 notes, the court heard. He also had scratches on his face.
Gomez-Hernandez then visited a brothel in Harrington Gardens in Fulham at 4.45pm and had sex with two escorts, jurors were told.
He next returned to his friends’ flat and claimed that his wife was not answering the door.
The group then watched as he climbed through a window into the flat before telling them: “Vanessa is on the floor, something has happened to her.”
When he let them in they found her lying lifeless next to the sofa.
Gomez-Hernandez, of Fulham, denies murder.
The trial continues.
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