Nurse Kevin Cobb told a friend he was attracted to Susan Annis, the woman he is accused of killing.

Miss Annis, 31, died in a nurses' home in November 1996 when her heart stopped during an adverse reaction to the sedative Midazolam, the Old Bailey heard.

The prosecution alleges Cobb, 38, of Yateley, Hants, spiked her drink with the intention of sexually assaulting her. Miss Annis, who worked at Crawley Hospital, died during a course she attended with Cobb and other nurses at the Royal Brompton Hospital, west London, shortly after his marriage to a doctor in August, 1996.

Nurse Alexandra Bennett told the court Cobb was the only male in the group. She said: "We were chatting one day, talking about people we might be attracted to. I remember the defendant saying to me the one person he felt attracted to on the course was Susan Annis."

She said Miss Annis, of Colwell Road, Haywards Heath, had recently moved in with her boyfriend and was happy in her relationship. She said she visited Cobb at his home a few days after Miss Annis's death and offered to take him to the funeral.

Cobb told her how Annis collapsed after drinking cider with him and he gave her the kiss of life when he found her collapsed on the floor of the room.

Miss Bennett said: "He was distressed. We talked about the police. He seemed unduly concerned about the police visiting him. The police had been in contact with him. He said they wanted to see him again and he was anxious about it. I said to him it was probably just routine and not to worry about it."

Cobb has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges including manslaughter, rape and drugging women at St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, where he worked in casualty.

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