An alleged gold-digger attacked his Saudi Arabian princess ex-girlfriend's chauffeur in a drink and drug-fuelled rage after she caught him having a threesome in her flat, a court heard today.
Patrick Ribbsaeter, 30, lunged at the driver who was attempting to protect Sara Al-Amoundi who had split up with the Swedish model after catching him in bed with two other women.
Sarkis Tokatlian, known as Steve, was stabbed in the face six times with a smashed glass as he tried to stop Ribbsaeter lunging at Ms Al-Amoundi while she slept, Southwark Crown Court in London heard.
'Gold-digger': Patrick Ribbsaeter is alleged to have attacked his ex-girlfriend's chauffeur in a drunk and drug-fuelled rage after she caught him having a three-some in her flat
Martin Whitehouse, for the prosecution, told the court Ribbsaeter must have thought he had struck gold after meeting Ms Al-Amoudi, described as a Saudi Arabian princess, while on holiday in Thailand.
'You might think the phrase "gold-digger" accurately describes him,' Mr Whitehouse said.
But Ribbsaeter's life of future prosperity disappeared when Ms Al-Amoudi walked in to her flat in Marsham Street, Victoria, central London, on Saturday September 26, last year to find Ribbsaeter with two women, it was alleged.
Ms Al-Amoudi was disgusted and a little naive, but behaved with admirable restraint, the court heard.
Mr Tokatlian then drove Ms Al-Amoudi and Ribbsaeter in a Rolls Royce to dinner, and then on to a series of clubs, including the Ministry of Sound and the Matinee Group, before the couple returned to her flat in the early hours of Sunday.
Trial: Sarkis Tokatlian, left, was attacked while trying to protect Saudi Arabian princess Sara Al-Amoundi, it has been claimed
It was then that Ms Al-Amoudi talked about her future with Ribbsaeter and 'realised that Patrick was, after all, not the man for her', the prosecutor said.
Mr Tokatlian returned to the flat after dropping off the car and it became apparent that Ribbsaeter and Ms Al-Amoudi had split up, had no future together, and were just going to be friends.
The trio talked until Ms Al-Amoudi fell asleep.
But Ribbsaeter then lunged at her, prompting the chauffeur to push him back, giving him a bloody nose.
Ribbsaeter then picked up a wine glass from the table, smashed it and shoved it in to Mr Tokatlian's face, repeatedly trying to stab him.
'Ribbsaeter intended to cause him really serious harm and he was not acting in self defence,' Mr Whitehouse said.
The pair then struggled violently with each other on the floor by the dining table until Ribbsaeter climbed on top of the victim, grabbed his throat with both hands, and strangled him, only stopping when Mr Tokatlian pushed his thumbs into his attacker's eyes, the court heard.
The jury was told Ribbsaeter has a previous conviction in Sweden for strangling a different former girlfriend during an attack.
Mr Whitehouse went on: 'By the time it had got round to the strangling, Patrick Ribbsaeter had lost it.
'He wasn't thinking about her. He was thinking about his future prosperity.
'When he was found out, and realised he could not charm his way out, he reverted to his other character type - violence.'
Mr Whitehouse told the jury of eight men and four women that the trial showed the 'rather seedy' world of the rich and beautiful, a far cry from the 'idyllic, perhaps artificial' world painted by Hello! magazine.
It was a life of 'drinks, drugs and clubs', he said.
'In some respects, rather seedy and, of course, there's violence.'
While pony-tailed Ribbsaeter, who sat in the dock with an open white shirt exposing his chest, may appear charming and good-looking, there was another side to him, he said.
'He's violent, he's vain, he's egocentric,' Mr Whitehouse said.
'He's also, I suggest, a liar and prone to exaggeration.'
In giving his evidence, Ribbsaeter set out to minimise his own role and to blame others, he said.
But Ribbsaeter told the jury that Mr Tokatlian was the aggressor and that he had only defended himself.
He said he had been drinking and had taken a tiny quantity of ketamine and an ecstasy tablet while the two others had taken much more.
In interview, Ribbsaeter told police he had seen red, had 'the strength of 10 men' and added it was a case of 'kill or be killed'.
Safora Syed, defending Ribbsaeter, told the jury: 'This is a case, no more and no less, of a man trying to defend himself and in so doing he is now sitting in this dock.
'The message to people inside and outside this court is that if you try to defend yourself then you too will find yourself in the dock.'
Ribbsaeter, of no fixed address, denies causing Mr Tokatlian grievous bodily harm with intent, the alternative charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and unlawfully wounding Ms Al-Amoudi during the struggle.
