The trial of the alleged murderer of Aristocrat Technologies executive Olga Pleguezuelos began this week at the Old Bailey in London.

The court heard that her husband, gaming industry businessman Mark Campbell, stabbed her at least five times in the bedroom of their apartment in north-west London and then faked a suicide attempt. She was preparing to take a new job with Aristocrat and start a fresh life in Las Vegas without him.

Aftab Jafferjee, QC, for the prosecution, said: “In the end he simply refused to take the rejection. It all boils down to a sadly familiar theme: ‘if I can’t have you, no one can’.”

Campbell (53), who appeared pale and distressed in the dock, denies murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Mr Jafferjee said there was “nothing sudden or temporary” about Campbell’s desire to kill his wife.

“The Crown says that the truth is that she had the courage to tell him that she could no longer love him back in the way that he wanted, so he decided that she must die,” Mr Jafferjee said. “It was an act of vengeance.”

Miss Pleguezuelos (35) was killed two days after she returned from a business trip to Latin America and Las Vegas, where she was due to take up a high-powered job with Aristocrat. In the US she became involved with another man and after returning to England she received a text message from the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on the night of her death.

“It demonstrated a degree of intimacy which almost certainly was seen by the defendant,” said Mr Jafferjee. “After having the courage to tell him she wanted to leave, an hour after receiving the text message, he had stabbed her to death.”
After the killing, at about 1.10am on October 19, 2009, Campbell waited several hours before slashing himself with a Stanley knife. Mr Jafferjee told the jury: “Is the truth that this was an act of self-harm some hours later which he hoped would deflect from the enormity of the crime?”

Afterwards Campbell called 999, telling emergency services: “I’ve killed my wife. She’s younger than me and I think she’s been seduced by all those things in Las Vegas.”

Miss Pleguezuelos, described as “hard-working” and “bubbly”, worked for Campbell when he ran a business in Spain, beginning a relationship with him after he “pursued” her, the court heard. The couple married in 2008 after living together for several years, but had separated temporarily six months before her death and their relationship suffered under the stress of money worries, the court heard.

Although Campbell ran his own business, he lost “considerable sums of money” gambling. “He had large debts approaching £1m and was effectively living well beyond his means,” Mr Jafferjee said.

On the second day of the trial, Miss Pleguezuelos’ sister Maria said that her sister told her Cambell was trying to control her. "My sister was not happy to be controlled. He was all the time behind her," said Ms Pleguezuelos, who is four years older. "He made her feel that without him she was nothing - personally and professionally."

Olga had lost 33lbs in the last three years and in the last six months began to look "gaunt", she added.

There will be daily updates from the trial next week at www.intergameonline.com