Exclusive:Man accused of murder texted sex workers the night before Joanna Derkacz's body was found
Sexton denies charges of murder, rape, and coercive or controlling behaviour.
A man accused of murdering his partner contacted multiple sex workers the night before her body was found, a jury has been told.
Stephen Sexton, 39, is alleged to have strangled Joanna Derkacz, 37, in the early hours of December 28, 2023, at their home in Nevinson Way, Waterlooville.
Sexton, of Cherrywood Gardens, Totton, denies murder, rape, and coercive or controlling behaviour at the retrial.
At Winchester Crown Court today (Wednesday, November 11), the jury was shown data from Sexton’s phone, which showed him returning to Nevinson Way at 12.20am on December 28. He left the house 30 minutes later, and Ms Derkacz’s body was found that same day.
In his short time at home, Sexton contacted two different sex workers, having found their details online. Four voice calls were attempted, before he messaged one number asking “hey baby, are you still working?”
A voice call followed, before another message from Sexton that read: “I’ll be there in 20 minutes baby”. It was after this that Sexton left the house.
Ms Derkacz’s phone was last active at 12.30am, when it was disconnected from a bluetooth speaker.
It came after Sexton had spent the evening with a friend, called Daniel Drake. In his police interview, the day after Ms Derkacz’s body was found, Mr Drake described Sexton as “not in a good way” with his mental health.
Having been friends since they were teenagers, he picked up Sexton on the afternoon of December 27, and took him back to his house.
“I got to him for about 5.30pm, and we left their house when Ms Derkacz arrived,” he said. “He told me he’d just had enough - I knew there had been a history of them not getting on particularly well, so I guessed that’s what he meant.
“I told him there were a lot of people that he meant a lot to, and tried to talk him round. We ended up talking about it for a couple of hours or so.
“When Ms Derkacz came home, I waited outside - I could see them having a conversation in the living room, because the curtains were open, but could not hear what was being said. It didn’t look like they were having an argument, or anything like that.”
Sexton went with Mr Drake, whose partner set up a bed for the defendant to stay the night. That evening, they spoke about relationships and how Sexton had “over-reacted” to some things that had happened.
Instead of staying, Sexton left the property when Mr Drake went to bed at midnight, taking the 20 minute walk back to Ms Derkacz’s house, as confirmed by data retrieved from his phone.
Mr Drake told officers he tried to contact Sexton the following day (December 28), and when he did not hear from him decided to go to Nevinson Way - where he saw a police presence outside the property.
(Proceeding)