The fiance of Samantha Henderson accepted in court that she had died as a result of the injuries inflicted by him.

An emotional Dominic Isom, 28, yesterday admitted that his actions on January 21 this year led to Ms Henderson's death.

But he denies murdering the 25-year-old mother of four.

Follow our live coverage from today at Winchester Crown Court 

Asked by Nigel Lickley QC, defending, if he had meant to cause Ms Henderson any harm or intended to hurt her or cause serious injury, Isom replied: "No."

Ms Henderson's body was discovered wrapped in a child's duvet at the bottom of the lake at Ham Common on January 30.

She was reported missing by Isom at 8.38am on January 22.

He told police, as well as family and friends, that Ms Henderson had left their shared home in Corfe Castle approximately 4.30pm the day before wearing his slippers.

However, as he gave evidence yesterday, Isom said his partner had died after he attempted to pull her away from one of her children.

He alleged that Ms Henderson had put her hands around the child's throat, causing the youngster's lips to "turn blue" and face to mottle.

The defendant said that as he pulled Ms Henderson out through the back door, she had grabbed hold of the door frame with one hand.

He had then "catapulted" her over his shoulder accidentally, causing her head to come into contact with the door of the shed.

The impact caused a large, bleeding gash near her temple, Isom said.

As he turned to her, he said she "grabbed his throat" and said: "I'm going to kill you."

The defendant admitted putting one hand around Ms Henderson's throat, but said that he had not hit her.

After a stretch of time estimated to be between 30 seconds and a minute, Isom said Ms Henderson released her grip on his throat.

She was sat against the shed with her eyes open, he told jurors, adding that he believed she had "stopped or given up".

Isom then said he locked Ms Henderson outside, returning after around 20 minutes to discover that she was sitting in the same place and did not have a pulse.

He said he was "panicking", and "put her in [a] bag" before carrying her "like a baby" and placing her in the boot of a blue Peugeot.

Later, he admitted driving to the lake and wading into the water, dragging Ms Henderson's weighted body with him and allowing it to sink to the bottom.

He returned early the following morning, January 22, because he "wanted to spend some more time with Sam".

Later that day, Isom left two voicemail messages for Ms Henderson begging her to return home.

Asked why he had done this by Mr Lickley, the defendant replied: "I wanted to hear Sam's voice - I wanted to hear her voice."

Isom was interviewed by police ten times before he was charged with murdering Ms Henderson.

During each, he denied having caused any harm to Ms Henderson, or knowing where she had gone.

Upon being told that police had discovered his mobile phone had been used at Ham Common on the evening of January 21, and that officers planned to send in divers or even drain the lake, Isom had replied: "You'll find there's nothing there.

"After everything you do, [there'll be] nothing there at all."

Cross examining, prosecutor Ian Lawrie QC asked why Isom hadn't told officers that Ms Henderson's death was a "tragic accident".

The defendant said he had been "panicking", and wished only to return to the children.

"I was too much of a coward to admit it.

"I knew what needed to be done but I didn't do it," he said.

Asked by Mr Lawrie whether he was "hoping against hope" that he could "fudge this, dodge this", Isom replied that he couldn't.

"I would have to live the rest of my life with the guilt of what I had done," he said.

The trial continues.

Samantha Henderson 'had written date of planned wedding to Dominic Isom'

Ms Henderson had written the date of her planned wedding to Isom in a pink Filofax before surrounding the words with hearts, the court heard.

Pages copied from the book were handed to jurors on the fifth day of the trial.

They showed Ms Henderson's meticulous organisation, with dates already filled with events and plans into this summer.

The mother of four had printed heart stamps around entries for Valentine's Day and June 15 which was marked 'wedding day'.

She had also referred to herself as 'Mrs Samantha Lane', the surname Isom was born with before it was changed when he was a child.

Jurors were also shown copies of an entry posted on the couple's shared Facebook page.

The post, apparently written by Ms Henderson, refers to Isom as her "partner in crime, lover and soul mate".