Brother's phone calls to murdered Ffion Wyn Roberts

A jury has heard how a young woman from Porthmadog received several phone calls from her brother in the hours before she was found murdered.

The body of 22-year-old Ffion Wyn Roberts was discovered in a drainage ditch called Y Cyt in the Gwynedd town in April 2010.

Factory worker Iestyn Davies, 54, also from Porthmadog, denies murdering her.

Caernarfon Crown Court heard that Ms Roberts received two phone calls from her brother Elgan prior to her death.

The care worker was assaulted, strangled and drowned.

The first witnesses in the case were called to court on Monday and included people who were with Ms Roberts the night before she died.

That night she had been out at a birthday party at the Royal Madoc Hotel in the village of Tremadog, about a mile from her home.

People who were at the event told the court that she was there with her mother Bethan, her father Idris and a friend of the family.

After midnight, the party moved to another pub in Tremadog, The Union, a few yards away.

But a friend of Ms Roberts gave evidence and said her brother, Elgan had also contacted her.

Nia Jones said that he called Ms Roberts twice.

The prosecution barrister, Patrick Harrington QC, asked Ms Jones: "On the second call, did she (Ffion Wyn Roberts) tell her brother to shut up, stop acting like a child and not to be so stupid?"

Nia Jones replied: "Yes, she was cross."

Body

Another friend, Ffion Lydia Roberts, said that Ms Roberts had started to cry while in The Union pub, but had refused to say what was wrong.

The court also heard from Hugh Finlay Williams, who discovered the body.

He said that he and his wife were taking their usual afternoon walk along the banks of Y Cyt on Saturday lunchtime when they bumped into a neighbour who had lost her cat.

He began searching for the cat, but spotted Ms Roberts' body almost immediately and called the police.

The trial is due to last until mid April.