A MAN accused of raping and murdering pregnant Newport teenager Nikitta Grender was crying, upset and angry when he learned she had died, a court heard yesterday.

Carl Whant, 27, who denies charges of rape, murder, arson and child destruction, told police in interviews how his cousin – Miss Grender’s boyfriend Ryan Mayes – ran towards the couple’s burnt-out Broadmead Park flat after he drove them there on the morning of February 5.

Police then told them a body had been found, Newport Crown Court heard.

Whant told police: “I was crying, I very rarely cry but I was crying and upset, cwtching Ryan. He was distraught, devastated, saying ‘How could that happen?’ things like that.

“I said ‘I don’t know, I don’t know’.

"I felt upset because I couldn’t do anything to help him or say something to make him feel better.”

Nineteen-year-old Miss Grender was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with a daughter she had already named Kelsey-May when she died, found stabbed to death at her burnt-out home on February 5 last year.

Whant told officers Mr Mayes blamed himself for his girlfriend’s death because he hadn’t returned home that night.

The former street cleaner told police he only found out Miss Grender had been stabbed when he saw it reported on the television news.

Newport Crown Court heard Whant had taken cocaine and another drug called mephedrone which made him feel happy, awake and alert.

He also told officers it increased his sex drive, but only when he was with his girlfriend and not on nights out with others.

When asked by police if he was sexually attracted to Miss Grender, he admitted he had once contacted her in the hope of having sex, but that was around three years ago.

Since then he told officers he had “zero” sexual feelings towards her.

He added he had grown up a lot since and had strong feelings about being faithful when in a relationship, the court heard.

Whant later admitted to police he was concerned because early media reports said firefighters had attended the flat around 8am, but he later found out the blaze was started around 5.30am – a time for which he had no alibi.

The case continues on Monday.

‘No recollection’ of journey

WHANT described to officers his movements on the evening of February 4 and how the group of friends had ended up at a house in Corelli Street, the court heard.

At around 5am he claimed he went to get cigarettes from his nan’s house, which was a five-minute car journey away.

He told officers the route he took to get there, avoiding the city centre because he had been drinking and taking drugs and didn’t want to get caught by the police.

He knocked on his nan’s front door but, after getting no answer, decided to return to Corelli Street.

The jury heard Whant had no recollection of the journey back to the house, and though he said he had previously forgotten things after taking cocaine, this was the first time he had forgotten something so big.

Asked if he could have gone to Broadmead Park from his nan’s house, he replied “no”.

Whant later refused to answer any more questions claiming he was unwell and stressed out, after police revealed they had found his DNA at the scene, as well as blood matching Miss Grender’s DNA profile in his car.