A neighbour of Kirsty Grabham has described what he took to be the sound of her high-pitched and hysterical voice being "smothered" as if something had been put over her mouth.

Byron Williams told Swansea Crown Court he heard "gasping that sounded like she was being strangled" and a big thud.

This was followed by a "dragging across the floor" and something that sounded like a hard brush "scrubbing, scrubbing and scrubbing".

Mr Williams's home was directly underneath the top-floor flat in Rosehill Terrace, Mount Pleasant, where 24-year-old Mrs Grabham was allegedly murdered by her husband, Paul Grabham, last year.

Yesterday Mr Williams and his girlfriend, Kerry Inger, were called to give evidence about what they heard coming from upstairs on March 28.

Grabham, aged 25, who denies murder, is alleged to have attacked and killed his wife in the early hours after they returned home separately from a night out in the city centre.

According to the prosecution, he then cleaned the flat and dumped her body in a suitcase on an embankment near the M4.

The couple both worked as prostitutes and were married in 2008 shortly after meeting at a Bridgend brothel.

Mr Williams told Greg Taylor QC, prosecuting, that on the night in question he heard Mrs Grabham coming home "all happy" and calling to her cat. But a short time later he heard an argument that lasted for about an hour.

"Kirsty sounded very distressed and upset," said Mr Williams.

He then heard what he took to be her "high-pitched and hysterical" voice being stifled by something being put over her mouth.

"It was like the sort of thing you see on TV when people are gasping as if they are being strangled," he told the court.

Mr Williams said things went quiet after there was a big thud and the sound of something being dragged across the floor.

But later there was another prolonged disturbance that sounded like a hard brush being used to scrub the floor.

There were also several bumping noises, he said, as if someone was ransacking the flat.

"The noise was ridiculous and I felt like going upstairs to say something," said Mr Williams.

But one reason he did not go upstairs was that the Grabhams had had rows in the past and afterwards things had been fine.

He reckoned it was a couple of hours from the time Mrs Grabham came home to when things finally fell silent.

The court heard on March 30 Grabham was "very upset and on edge" when he came downstairs to ask Mr Williams and Miss Inger if they had seen his wife.

Cross-examined by Christopher Clee QC, Mr Williams admitted that when detectives first spoke to him about the night in question he said he did not know anything.

"I have had bad experiences in the past," he said. "I was hoping she was going to be found. The last thing I wanted to think was that Paul Grabham had murdered his wife, but once the body was found on April 6 I knew exactly what had gone on. I blame myself because I wish I had gone up to do something about it and I hope he rots in hell."

Mr Williams told the court the night in question had left him traumatised.

Kerry Inger, giving evidence, said that she frequently heard the Grabhams arguing and the sound of things being thrown in the flat.

In the early hours of March 28 there was another row, she said, but this time there were "more thuds and bangs than normal".

Miss Inger said furniture was being moved about and something that sounded like a hard brush was being used to sweep the floor.

There was also a "strange squeaking noise like a heavy wet object being dragged across a bath", she said.

"I thought that something had been broken in the argument and they were trying to clean it up," she added. Miss Inger said that when she spoke to Grabham a few days later he told her that his wife had taken some money and clothes and gone away.

"When I mentioned that I had heard an argument he said they had been fine after that — so he did not know why she had gone," said the witness.

On April 1 or 2, the court heard, Grabham told Miss Inger that he felt unable to stay in the flat and he was going to stay with his father in Bridgend.

The case continues.