An ’obsessed’ Abergavenny property millionaire strangled a woman he paid to be his exclusive escort after he eavesdropped on her plans to leave him, a murder trial has heard.

Peter Morgan, 54, is accused of killing mother-of-one Georgina Symonds, 25, after hearing her say she planned to ’fleece him’ before ending the relationship and returning to work as a high-class escort.

Morgan, a property and farming tycoon from Llanellen, paid Ms Symonds up to £10,000 per month to work as his personal escort, often lavishing the mother, who has a five-year-old daughter, with expensive gifts, shopping trips and luxurious hotel stays.

Newport Crown Court heard that Morgan overheard Symonds’ phone call with another man through a listening device disguised as a plug adapter installed in the bungalow he allowed her to live in rent-free.

During that call, which took place at 10.25pm on January 10, Morgan overheard Ms Symonds’ desire to break off their three-year relationship once he signed over the deeds to the bungalow, the court heard.

Prosecutor William Hughes QC told the jury Morgan created a ’murder list’ on his phone at 3.20am the following day. It read: ’SIM, gloves, snip, handle, adapter.’

"It is a list we say Mr Morgan was preparing in his planning for the murder of Georgina," said Mr Hughes.

The court heard Morgan had planted the listening device in November 2015, calling it 514 times from its installation to the time of Ms Symonds’ death. He is alleged to have spent as much as two hours at a time eavesdropping after ringing a special number connected to the device.

Mr Hughes, said, “During the course of his interview, Peter Morgan said he overheard Georgina talking to an unknown person. He heard Georgina say that once he had signed the bungalow over, she was going to leave him, go to London to work as an escort and continue to ’fleece’ him.

“This enraged him. He then began to plan and think about ‘ending the problem’ ”.

Morgan then bought an O2 sim card on January 11. He told police officers he intended to use it to call a taxi after he had disposed of Ms Symonds’ body, Mr Hughes said.

The court heard Morgan arrived at Ms Symonds’ Llanmartin bungalow -- which he owned -- in the morning of January 12 this year, armed with bailing twine, tape, a metal pole and a tarpaulin sheet.

After strangling the young mother with the twine, Morgan then wrapped her body in the plastic sheet, secured it with rope and tape, before loading it into the boot of his £52,000 Porsche Cayenne, the court heard.

Prosecuting, Mr Hughes said, "After killing Georgina, he went to great lengths to move her and conceal her body, and cover his own tracks after the killing itself."

The jury was shown CCTV footage showing Morgan pulling up outside an outbuilding at Beech Hill Farm, Usk, at midday.

The court heard Morgan then went about his day as normal, visiting Lloyd’s Bank in Abergavenny, and running various errands.

After failing to collect her five-year-old daughter from school, Ms Symonds was reported missing to police. Her phone was discovered under the driver’s seat of Morgan’s Porsche.

The property tycoon, who admitted being ’a millionaire many times over’, then allegedly told officers at 4.45am on January 13 this year: "I have to tell you. I can’t take this. I strangled her this morning. I loved her so much."

Morgan later handed officers keys to an outbuilding where they discovered the body of Ms Symonds, whom a postmortem confirmed had died from strangulation.

The court heard Morgan, who is said to suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome, initially met Symonds’ on a dating website named Plenty of Fish, where a relationship developed, lasting around three years.

Morgan lavished the young beautician, even paying for ‘boob jobs’, liposuction, helicopter rides, horseriding and piano lessons, with the proceeds of an extensive property portfolio. The court heard Morgan was worth around 20m.

The millionaire told police in interviews that he ’loved’ Symonds’ and planned to give his wife of 22 years half his businesses in order to be with Symonds’ and continue his role as her self-described ’sugar daddy’.

The court heard their relationship began to sour after the suicide of Symonds’ ex-boyfriend in November 2015, after which the deceased went through an extended period of grieving, which Morgan, the court heard, felt was often ’blamed on himself’.

Morgan, of Llanellen, near Abergavenny, South Wales, denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The trial, which is expected to last three weeks, continues.