A woman who was having an affair with a lawyer accused of murdering his wife described him as ‘a big softie’, a jury at Guildford Crown Court heard this morning.

Richard Davies Jones, 33, was found slumped on top the blood stained body of his wife, Laura Davies Jones, at their home in Ashtead, Woodfield Lane in December last year.

Mrs Davies Jones, who died from after two stab wounds to her throat, had earlier that year discovered her husband’s affair and was allegedly planning to leave him.

The woman, referred to in court as Miss A, began an affair with Mr Davies Jones while they were both students at Guildford College of Law from 2006 to 2007.

Miss A, who was also married throughout the affair, claimed to have no knowledge of Mr Davies Jones’ wife and three children and said she believed that he was single.

She said: “He was single, that was the general impression since we had met.

“People assumed he was single and he said he was single.”

Of his character Miss A said: “He was pretty quiet but nice.

“He seemed to get along with everyone.

“He seemed pretty smart and did good work.

“He contributed to discussions and was pretty normal.”

Miss A, who now lives in Switzerland with her husband, admitted that there had been problems in her own marriage at the time.

She said: “My husband travels a lot with work and he was gone and I guess it was nice to get some attention.”

She added: “It was not a formal thing.

“I was never going to leave my husband and he knew that.

“I was under the impression he was also seeing other people.”

The affair reached an end in 2009 when Mr Davies Jones told Miss A he had found someone new and felt ‘guilty’ about meeting up with her.

It was later that Miss A learned of Mr Davies Jones family and the death of his wife.

She said: “One of our mutual friends sent me a link to a news article in The Lawyer saying that he had allegedly stabbed his wife and in the article it said that he was married and had three kids.”

The trial continues.