Ian Walters, 51, allegedly killed his wife Tracy by deliberately driving their truck into a tree at 84mph . A violent and controlling church treasurer allegedly murdered his wife by driving their truck into a tree at 84mph just hours after she asked for a divorce because she was unable to cope with his insatiable sexual demands, a court heard yesterday. Tracy Walters died after making a flurry of calls to police about sex-obsessed husband Ian in the days leading up to the M1 crash, including one that morning. Jurors were yesterday played motorway CCTV footage of the moment Walters, 51, a driving examiner, steered the Mitsubishi pick-up truck into trees on an embankment as they returned from a ‘make or break’ holiday. Walters is alleged to have deliberately veered his 4X4 off the M1 motorway as he returned from the trip in the Yorkshire Dales with his horse rider wife Tracy. The court heard how the 51-year-old, who also worked as a driving instructor, was allegedly 'very angry' at the time because his wife had asked for a divorce. The pair, who were married in 2012, were said to have been in a 'troubled' relationship, with Walters allegedly using sex 'as a sort of sedative' against his wife. Jurors were told how he would often turn to violence if his wife was unwilling to satisfy his sexual demands. The court also heard how Mrs Walters had text one of her sons seconds before the crash to say she wanted to report Walters to the police but was too afraid. Opening the trial at Leicester Crown Court today, Charles Miskin QC said Walters had purposely crashed the pick-up truck because he 'wanted to show her who was in charge'. He told the court: 'He didn't cause the crash for any virtuous reason, for example to avoid a person on the road. The prosecution case is that he deliberately caused the crash.' He added: 'He wanted to show her who was in charge, who was in control.' The couple, who met through their jobs when Mrs Walters worked as a driving instructor, were returning to their home in Swindon, Wiltshire, when the fatal crash took place near Markfield, Leicester. The jury was shown CCTV footage of the Mitsubishi L200 moments before it veered onto an embankment near junction 22 of the southbound carriageway in March last year. The court heard how the vehicle ploughed through shrubbery before hitting the tree, leaving Mrs Walters with serious injuries. The couple, who were said to have had a 'troubled' relationship, had married in Cyprus in 2012 but their relationship is alleged to have become abusive soon afterwards, jurors heard . The 48-year-old was flown to hospital but died two days later despite wearing a seatbelt and the airbags deploying. Mr Miskin said tests revealed the black Mitsubishi was travelling at between 74 and 84mph when it hit the tree. The Mitsubishi, which is not thought to have braked, was even 'airborne' for a time after hitting a concrete structure, the court was told. After the crash, the metalwork of the vehicle had to be 'unpeeled' from around Mrs Walters by emergency crews. She told paramedics ‘I’m dying’ and fell unconscious before she could be airlifted to hospital. She died two days later. Prosecutor Charles Miskin QC told the jury Mrs Walters’ texts and social media messaging gave the ‘inside track’ on how her marriage had gone from ‘troubled to abusive’. Relatives had also seen bruising, while Mrs Walters had texted her sister throughout the holiday describing the couple’s rows. The court heard during their journey home she texted her son from the passenger seat of the L200 truck asking him to arrange for police to be waiting when they reached their home in Swindon. The message stated: ‘I want him (Walters) arrested…but don’t want to wind him up.’ The court heard the vehicle left the southbound carriageway at Ratby, near Leicester, just 12 seconds after Mrs Walters received a reply from her son. It hit a concrete box housing gantry messaging equipment and became airborne, before eventually coming to a rest beside a tree 150ft from where it left the road. Mrs Walters, a keen horse rider, was flown to hospital following the collision in Markfield, Leicester, but died two days later from her injuries . Mr Miskin said Walters’ insatiable sexual appetite was one of the ‘principal issues’ in the breakdown of their 18-month marriage. Mr Walters, a former Parochial Church Council treasurer at Christ Church in Swindon, was also flown to Coventry's University Hospital with serious injuries. Walters suffered multiple fractures and brain injuries and spent three weeks in hospital before he was discharged in mid-April. He was charged with murder two months later. After his arrest, he claimed not to remember what caused the crash and denied having reason to harm his wife. Mr Miskin said the text Mrs Walters sent to her son may have 'acted as the trigger' for Walters's alleged conduct. The message said: 'I need him arrested when I get back, but I am scared because he is so volatile and I don't want to wind him up'. Reading the message to jurors, Mr Miskin said: 'He (the defendant) knew that he was in trouble with her, he knew that he was in trouble with her family, and he knew that he was in trouble with the police. 'He probably felt some degree of humiliation. He wanted to show her who was in charge, who was in control.' In police interviews after his arrest, Walters claimed he could not remember anything about the incident. But he added that he would not have done anything to intentionally hurt either his wife or himself. The court heard both Walters and his wife had been married once before and had grown-up children from their previous relationships. The Mitsubishi L200 veered onto an embankment near junction 22 of the southbound carriageway in March last year. Pictured: Emergency services at the scene of the crash . The couple had started dating in 2011, before marrying one year later in Cyprus. But their relationship is alleged to have become abusive soon afterwards. Facebook messages sent by Mrs Walters during her week away and on the day of the crash were read to the jury by Mr Miskin. He said Mrs Walters - who had written a note saying she was 'scared and very unhappy' - appeared to be unable to cope with her husband's sexual demands. He added: 'It seemed he wanted sex all of the time and she couldn’t cope with his demands. It seems he was using sex with her as a sort of sedative.' The court was also told how Mrs Walters had asked for a divorce on several occasions.. Leicester Crown Court heard the crash took place ten days after Mrs Walters called police to their home when her husband slapped and pushed her for refusing him sex. Police interviewed Walters, but did not arrest him. The couple saw a counsellor the next evening, when Mrs Walters revealed a ‘belt of bruising’ on her back. She told the counsellor Walters became violent to her on their honeymoon. Mr Miskin said the counsellor described Walters as ‘narcissistic’. When officers arrived, Walters denied being violence, only admitting he was 'annoyed' because his wife had refused him sex, the court heard. He was questioned but not arrested. Mr Miskin told jurors that the pair had been away to try and resolve their issues but that the holiday had not gone to plan. The court heard the couple checked out of their holiday cottage in the Yorkshire Dales a day earlier than planned. Walters told the owner they’d had a ‘big bust up’, and that his wife wanted a divorce and had called police. Mrs Walters made an ‘unconnected 999 call’ from their cottage, before Walters allegedly told the owner that he was leaving early. Mr Miskin added: 'He said that Tracy wanted a divorce and had called the police.' After the crash, the metalwork of the vehicle had to be 'unpeeled' from around Mrs Walters by emergency crews, the court was told . ‘Walters was angry, very angry. He knew he was in trouble with her (his wife) and he knew he was in trouble with her family. He also knew he was in trouble with the police. He wanted to show her who was in charge, who was in control.’ He added that Mrs Walters had also made an an application under 'Claire's Law' to discover if her he had a violent past. But there were also 'frequent reconciliations' and the couple had sought marriage counselling. Officers later found a note written to him by Mrs Walters at their home, in which she outlined her unhappiness. The note added: ‘I am not a b**** and it is not two weeks since we had sex.’ Mr Miskin said that Walters ‘risked his own life and limb’ in the crash, and may have intended to kill himself, but must also have foreseen that his wife could suffer ‘really serious injury or death’. If the jury agreed, he said, then Walters was guilty of murder. Walters denies murder. The trial at Leicester Crown Court continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
Ian Walters veered his pick-up truck off M1 when 'very angry', court told . He and wife Tracy were returning from 'make or break' trip in Yorkshire . Prosecution allege he crashed vehicle 'to show her who was in charge'
Walters, also a driving test instructor, denies murder - the trial continues .