A doctor was murdered in a knife attack by a close family friend who “snapped” after failing his college exams, a jury heard yesterday.

David Quartey, 22, stabbed Victoria Anyetei 56 times in the head, neck, body and hands during the assault at her home. Some of the blows were so powerful they would have broken rib bones, Maidstone Crown Court in Kent was told.

Mr Quartey, the son of a High Court judge in his native Ghana, had moved in with Dr Anyetei, 54, whom he affectionately referred to as “mother”, after coming to Britain in October 2005.

In the weeks leading up to her murder, Mr Quartey, a law student at a Kensington college, did not attend classes and then repeatedly failed exams, it was claimed. Fearing that he had let down both his host and his family, he hid his poor results from Dr Anyetei, a consultant at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

The prosecution claims that when she discovered the truth, Mr Quartey snapped and lashed out, knifing and biting her as she sat in her car on her driveway in Dartford. Anthony Haycroft, for the prosecution, said: “This is a case where a normally placid, likeable young lad, snapped and lost control. There was family and cultural pressure on David Quartey to do well.”

Although no one saw the attack in the early hours of August 14 last year, the prosecution said that one of the defendant’s bite marks was found on Dr Anyetei. It was also claimed that a bite mark on Mr Quartey’s finger was inflicted by Dr Anyetei in self-defence.

Dr Anyetei told her son, Andrew Thompson, that Mr Quartey was scaring her with his behaviour, the prosecution said.

Mr Haycroft said that Mr Thompson, who was in bed asleep when his mother was killed, told police he was alerted to his mother’s death after hearing Mr Quartey’s screams from outside.

The prosecution claims that the defendant was at home at the time Dr Anyetei was murdered, that his DNA was mixed with Dr Anyetei’s on the car lining and that her blood had been cleaned off his trainers.

Mr Haycroft added: “During the attack a false tooth of Dr Anyetei’s came out and ended up in the rear of the Toyota car. David Quartey’s DNA was found on that tooth, consistent with him putting his hand over her mouth.”

No murder weapon has ever been found. Dr Anyetei, a practising Christian, had qualified as a doctor in 1982 in her native Ghana, but had lived in Britain for more than 30 years.

She was separated from her husband, George Thompson, but their son Andrew was living with her in England.

She was close to Mr Quartey’s family and it was decided that she would become his legal guardian so that he could obtain a British education.

Mr Quartey raised the alarm about two hours after Dr Anyetei had died. Mr Haycroft said that a list of other possible suspects had been drawn up, but this did not include Mr Quartey. He was identified as a suspect a month later.

The murder weapon, believed to be a 6 in knife, was never found. Photographs of the murder scene showed that it was “bin day” because wheelie bins lined up outside the houses. But the dustbins had been emptied by refuse collectors and had not been searched.

Mr Quartey, who was in England to obtain qualifications enabling him to study law, denies murder.

The trial continues.

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