A SOLDIER stabbed his ex-girlfriend 11 times at her Bournemouth home while her children slept upstairs, a court has heard.

The body of mum-of-two Natasha ‘Tasha’ Wake was found wrapped in a duvet in a cupboard at her Harley Gardens home on the afternoon of October 2 last year.

It is believed that she died late at night on October 1 after being stabbed with “severe force”.

On the same day that the discovery of Miss Wake’s body was made, her ex-partner Jay Nava attempted to hang himself from a tree at Hengistbury Head. He was cut down, resuscitated and later charged with murdering Miss Wake.

On the first day of a trial at Winchester Crown Court today, jurors were told Nava attacked Miss Wake as three children were asleep upstairs.

One young girl heard a “scream” and went downstairs for a drink. The girl later told police she had seen Nava with a knife in his trousers and Miss Wake lying on the floor of the lounge with a blanket over her.

The following morning, Nava left the children with family.

He then called his mother and told her he had killed Miss Wake and would commit suicide, it is alleged.

Police were called and Inspector Matthew Chutter visited Miss Wake’s home.

The front door of the property was unlocked and Insp Chutter noticed a cupboard under the stairs.

When he opened the cupboard door, he saw a “mass of platinum-coloured hair on top of a white, blood-stained duvet”, the court heard.

As the officer pulled the duvet away, he saw a woman’s face.

Sally Howes QC, prosecuting, said: “Dried blood was matted around her nose and mouth and in her hair.

“The body was curled up into the foetal position.

“He pulled her out and laid her down on her back to check for signs of life.

“There were none.”

Hours before Miss Wake’s death, Nava, now 27, had discovered police in Plymouth were not proceeding with an allegation of a sexual assault made against him in May 2016.

Jurors heard Miss Wake had been unaware that Nava had been interviewed by police in connection with the allegations until shortly before her death.

Ms Howes say the discovery may have acted as the “catalyst of a bitter and acrimonious argument” between Nava and Miss Wake.

“The contented family atmosphere was completely shattered when Natasha Wake discovers details of the Plymouth incident,” the barrister said.

“Not only that, but she also discovers that close family members were aware of it and had kept it from her.”

A series of Post-it notes were found in Miss Wake’s home by police investigating her death.

One read: “I’m very weak and scared.

“I have been for a long time now. I’ll see you again Tasha in the next world.”

Another, found nearby, read: “I’ll take my own life soon.

“I loved her. Why I did this is beyond me… that’s why I’ll kill myself.”

Nava, who wore a navy suit for the first day of the trial, wiped his eyes as Ms Howes opened the case against him.

The defendant, of MOD Royal Citadel, The Hoe, Plymouth, denies murder.

Ms Howes told jurors: “The evidence in this case suggests that the question for you to consider on behalf of the defendant is not ‘did he kill Natasha Wake’ but ‘what was his state of mind when he killed Natasha Wake’.”

The trial at Winchester Crown Court continues.