Barrister says dead woman was put on trial' after husband cleared of manslaughter

"He was acquitted of all charges: manslaughter, coercive and controlling behaviour and two counts of rape. The case had been brought after his wife, Tarryn Baird, 34, took her own life in 2017. Prior to her death, she made allegations that Trybus had been abusive to her. Trybus's defence argued that Baird had made false allegations because she was bored and lonely, and because she was desperately seeking help for her mental health issues, and feeling she wasn't receiving it and she may have become addicted to the attention that her allegations brought."

"Trybus, 44, denied all of the charges and said he had been unaware of his wife's allegations before her death. He told the court: I feel bad she was in such a place that she was saying these things what was going through her mind? He said that the day Baird had died was the worst day of my life, just absolutely terrible, I don't know how else to describe it. Baird had lived with PTSD from witnessing violent incidents in South Africa where the couple had lived before they moved to the UK, and had taken several prescription drug overdoses in the months leading up to her death."

"After the trial, Proudman criticised Trybus's defence for aspects of its closing speech. The defence had questioned how Trybus was supposed to answer the allegations of a ghost from 10 years ago. It described the case as Kafkaesque, and suggested the prosecution had an agenda. Charlotte Proudman criticised the defence for telling male jurors to be afraid of false allegations of abuse."

A jury found Christopher Trybus not guilty of manslaughter, coercive and controlling behaviour, and two counts of rape after more than 40 hours of deliberation. The charges followed the 2017 suicide of his wife, Tarryn Baird, who had previously alleged abuse. Trybus denied all charges and said he was unaware of the allegations before her death. He argued that some allegations were false and linked them to her mental health struggles and desire for help. The court heard that Baird had PTSD and had taken prescription drug overdoses before her death. After the trial, Charlotte Proudman criticised parts of the defense closing speech, including remarks to male jurors about false allegations.

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