text: A young mother who killed herself days after telling police she had been kidnapped and raped has given evidence in the trial of her alleged attacker from beyond the grave. A jury watched a distressing video interview in which the 20-year-old told officers how she flagged down a car belonging to Iranian Masood Mansouri believing he was a taxi driver. But instead of taking her to a nightclub with her university friends, it is alleged the 33-year-old drove off without them and took her to his home where he sexually assaulted and raped her. Masood Mansouri, 33, from Saltney, Flintshire, is accused of kidnap, rape and sexual assault . The woman, mother to a three-year-old girl, managed to escape by hiding in bushes, before getting another taxi to the club. Initially she tried to forget about the attack, the second sexual assault she had suffered in her short life. But she became so distressed the next day she broke down and told her mother. In a text message the woman, who had a history of depression, told her mother to make an appointment with her doctor, saying: ‘I really can’t handle being alive any more.’ She was interviewed by police, but five days later took an overdose of her mother’s blood pressure tablets and died. In her interview the alleged victim told officers: ‘I felt worthless and helpless and that I needed to tell someone. ‘I don’t feel like this is something which someone should be able to get away with.’ Judge Raj Shetty, sitting at Chester Crown Court, told the jury that the woman’s suicide made the case ‘unusual’ but stressed that it should not affect their judgment. The court heard that the alleged attack took place in the early hours of Sunday, August 10 last year. Nicholas Williams, prosecuting, said the woman, of Mochdre, North Wales, had been to a party with two Chester University friends at their halls of residence. A jury at Chester Crown Court was today shown a video-taped interview which the woman gave to police two days after the alleged incident. Five days later, the woman took a fatal overdose of prescription tablets . The group then decided to go to a nightclub around ten minutes’ drive away. After struggling to get a cab, the woman flagged down Mansouri’s BMW 3 series, believing it to be a taxi, and asked him to wait for her friends who were still inside. But he allegedly sped off and drove to his home in the suburb of Saltney, Chester. The woman became frightened and sent three chilling text messages to one of her friends, saying she had been ‘kidnapped’ and that she was ‘not joking’. The final one added: ‘Literally scared.’ When they arrived, the woman repeatedly said she did not want to go inside but told police she felt ‘trapped and intimidated’ so agreed. Mansouri, it is alleged, started trying to kiss her, before carrying out the ‘rough’ sexual assault and rape. After she reported the alleged attack, the woman was examined and Mansouri’s DNA was discovered. He was arrested but claimed the sex was consensual. In a statement, the girl’s mother, a college support assistant, told officers that her eldest daughter had been the victim of a sex assault when she was 15. The man was later prosecuted and jailed. The court heard that following the first attack, the woman became depressed and started suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She had a baby but could not cope with looking after her daughter. Six months before her death, the court heard, the woman was hospitalised nine times after trying to commit suicide. But her mother said that immediately before the alleged rape she had appeared happier. Mansouri denies three counts of kidnapping, sexual assault and rape. The trial continues. For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here for details. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
target: Jury shown interview that woman gave police two days after alleged attack .
  She claimed that Mansouri picked her up as she tried to hail cab in Chester .
  Woman sent messages to friends saying she had been kidnapped and was 'literally scared' as he drove her to his house, court heard .
  Masood Mansouri, 33, from Saltney, denies rape, kidnap and sexual assault .