YORK psychotherapist Heather Stephenson-Snell told her "dog sitter" she would kill him if she ever learned he was with another woman, a court heard.

Adrian Sinclair, who claimed he had a relationship with Stephenson-Snell, told a jury at Manchester Crown Court she also said she would "cut the breasts off" the woman involved.

Mr Sinclair, giving evidence, told the court he was in the process of ending the relationship when she uttered the chilling warning at her home in Crombie Avenue, Clifton, York.

But defending Stephenson-Snell, counsel Ben Nolan dismissed Mr Sinclair, 38, as a fantasist. He also alleged Mr Sinclair had raped Stephenson-Snell.

Stephenson-Snell is charged with the murder of 43-year-old Robert Wilkie, who died from a single gunshot wound, in Holland Street, Radcliffe, near Manchester, on November 1 last year.

The prosecution alleges Stephenson-Snell donned a Scream mask in an effort to kill Diane Lomax, who was Mr Sinclair's new girlfriend, but instead shot Mr Wilkie after he confronted her in the street.

The court heard Mr Sinclair, an epileptic who had suffered mental health problems in the past, met Stephenson-Snell after he applied for a job as a "dog sitter" to her two Rottweilers in the spring of 2002.

He described Stephenson-Snell's home as a "fortress", remembering its large gates, nails sticking up from the fence and barbed wire.

He said after a while they became "partners".

He claimed she had a collection of knives and a gun which looked like a Luger pistol. Mr Sinclair said she had three motorbikes. "She told me she was the president of a motorcycle chapter," he said.

"She used to associate with other bikers. She had some sort of group - a gang. They used to do things together."

Mr Sinclair said Stephenson-Snell often talked about her biker friends and said there were "initiations".

"There were some hellish events that used to do my mind a bit," he said.

Mr Sinclair added that a garage on the side of Stephenson-Snell's home acted as a small nightclub, called The Orange Pit.

The court heard that while she was visiting New York, Mr Sinclair left York. When she returned, he had already begun to start a relationship with Ms Lomax, in Radcliffe.

Mr Sinclair said on Stephenson-Snell's return, he met her at Leeds/Bradford Airport. He said they returned to her home and had sex in a caravan in her garden.

Mr Sinclair alleged he then ended the relationship and moved to Radcliffe.

But Mr Nolan told the court there had been no relationship between Mr Sinclair and Stephenson-Snell. He said she had sacked Mr Sinclair from his post because he was unreliable.

He also said Mr Sinclair had raped Stephenson-Snell when she returned from America.

Mr Nolan claimed Mr Sinclair gave her a coffee laced with a substance on the way back from the airport.

He said Mr Sinclair later threatened Stephenson-Snell that if she reported the crime, he would harm one of her dogs.

While in America, one of Stephenson-Snell's Rottweilers had gone missing. Mr Nolan claimed Mr Sinclair had taken it.

Mr Sinclair said: "That's totally untrue. I wouldn't do that to anyone."

Stephenson-Snell denies the murder of Mr Wilkie and the attempted murder of Ms Lomax.

The trial continues.

Updated: 10:07 Wednesday, September 08, 2004