Alleged "poison curry" murderer Dena Thompson told police she had "no idea" how her husband died, a jury heard.

Thompson's account of the final hours before the death of her second husband Julian Webb was read out at the Old Bailey yesterday.

She told detectives after his death in June 1994: "In my view Julian was depressed but not so bad he would take his own life intentionally.

"I have no idea what happened."

Thompson, 43, denies murdering Mr Webb on his 31st birthday at their home in Douglas Close, Yapton.

The prosecution claims she poisoned the advertising salesman with a cocktail of aspirin and anti-depressants, possibly concealed in a hot curry.

His death was initially thought to be suicide and an open verdict was recorded at the inquest.

But police reopened the case and charged Thompson with murder after exhuming his body in 2001.

Thompson told detectives on July 6, 1994, Julian had begun to feel "fed up" with work a few months before he died.

She said he had been offered a job with the Tampa Bay Tribune, meaning the family could start a new life in the United States.

But he encountered problems obtaining a work permit and began to slide into ill health and depression in the days before his death.

She described a blazing row between the pair after she found steroids in his gym bag and flushed them down the toilet.

Thompson told detectives she later suspected her husband had become genuinely ill and she called a doctor on June 29.

She said Mr Webb stopped taking calls from friends and family and was sick into a bucket on the evening of June 30.

She said: "I went up to see him again and he was asleep. He wasn't snoring but he was sniffing.

"At about 10pm I went upstairs and played on the computer and then at 10.45pm decided to go to bed.

"I went in to look at Julian and he was lying on his back and snoring heavily.

"I decided to let him sleep.

"Later, I went to the toilet - I'm not sure what time - but as I passed Julian's room, I couldn't hear him snoring.

"I checked him. I walked around the bed and saw him lying on the left-hand side.

"I immediately noticed his teeth. He looked like a vampire - there was blood in the corners of his mouth.

"I couldn't see him breathing. He was still warm.

"I panicked and ran downstairs and phoned 999.

"I told them he had stopped breathing and asked them what to do. They said give him mouth-to-mouth.

"I went next door to ask our neighbours how to resuscitate him but there was no answer.

"So I went back up to try to push his chest. The ambulance arrived shortly after."

Earlier in the trial, the court had heard paramedics were unable to revive Mr Webb, who was declared dead on arrival at hospital.

The trial continues.