The widow of a York father-of-five has denied covering up his murder by disposing of the weapon and cleaning up his blood.

Mark Webb, 40, was found with stab wounds to his neck in Middleton Road on March 4. He was taken to York Hospital where he later died.

His estranged wife, Susan Webb, 30, of Middleton Road, Acomb, is accused of perverting the course of justice by clearing up his blood and disposing of the murder weapon.

She denied the charges at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

Dawn Heather Coates, 49, of Acomb, is accused of interfering with the police investigation into Mr Webb’s death.

Brian Cox, 29, no fixed address, is accused of murdering Mr Webb at a house in Stuart Road, which is next to Middleton Road.

All three appeared together at Leeds Crown Court yesterday to give their pleas.

Cox spoke only to confirm his name and enter a plea of not guilty.

Webb is accused of three counts of perverting the course of justice, in that she cleaned up the blood of her ex-husband at the murder scene, lied in a witness statement to police and disposed of the murder weapon – a knife.

Coates is also alleged to have perverted the course of justice by misleading police on the day Mr Webb was found with a stab wound to his neck in Middleton Road and is accused of washing a jacket belonging to Cox which the prosecution alleged had traces of Mr Webb’s blood. They both deny the charges.

All three defendants will next appear before court in October.

Their trial is expected to last three weeks.

Judge Jennifer Kershaw QC remanded Cox in custody. Coates and Webb were released on conditional bail.

Mr Webb’s daughter, Sammie Luke, gave birth to what would have been his first grandchild, Jessica-Leigh, in May this year.