A MAN accused of murdering his girlfriend has walked free - after a court heard she may have killed herself.
Thomas Spears, 48, walked free from Leeds Crown Court after lawyers offered no evidence against him.
He had faced three months of anguish after being arrested for the suspected murder of 43-year-old Laura Stocks.
He was charged with murder last November, after her body was found in the house they shared in Hope Street, Milnsbridge.
But yesterday, Mr Spears appeared in the court to be told there was no case against him.
Mr Roger Thomas QC, prosecuting, said Mr Spears had always denied the murder.
Mr Thomas said that after further investigations and considerations of the case by all those involved, it had been decided to offer no evidence against Mr Spears.
Mr Thomas said Miss Stocks died from a single stab wound below her armpit, which had caused extensive internal bleeding.
Later inquiries had found that she had a well-documented history of harming herself and had previously blamed partners.
He said police had been called to the house previously, when Miss Stocks claimed to have been stabbed by a boyfriend. But she had then admitted she had done it herself.
Mr Thomas said medical experts had also testified that the wound could well have been self-inflicted.
In interviews with police, Mr Spears had told them Miss Stocks had inflicted the wound during an argument.
The judge, Mr Justice Wakerley, formally entered a not guilty verdict.
Police launched the murder inquiry last October 31.
An ambulance crew alerted police after they were called to the house on a back street just before 11pm.
The couple had shared the terraced house, which is on a short, unmade street between Armitage Road and Bankhouse Road.
The Huddersfield to Manchester railway line runs past the house on an embankment at the top of the street.
