He claimed he had 'gotten into a fight' when he was later found wearing a shirt which was 'covered in blood'.
Opening the murder trial, prosecutor Simon Spence said the horrific attack was 'no ordinary domestic assault in the course of an argument'.
He said: 'One only has to look at the extent of the head injuries Kerri maintained to see what he intended.
'She had 19 separate injuries to her face and head. A small bone in her neck was fractured. She had inhaled her own blood and the tip of her tongue was bruised.'
He added that both sides of Ms McAuley's jaw had been fractured in the attack, leaving her jaw loose within her face.
He said: 'This was no ordinary domestic assault in the course of an argument but a brutal and sustained attack in which the defendant intended to cause her serious harm.'
Mr Spence also said the victim was found lying on the floor covered in blood, having left trails of blood around the house which suggested she was trying to escape.
He said: 'Kerri had been assaulted in the lounge, had gone into the bathroom while injured. She had also exhaled blood by the front door.
'The prosecution says that was Kerri trying to escape.'
The jury were told how the couple had been together on and off for between one and a half and two years.
Mr Spence said Storey had assaulted Ms McAuley on at least two other occasions before the incident which led to her death.
On one of these occasions in the 'history of violence towards her' she was hospitalised.
Describing the timeline of events leading up to the assault on January 7, Mr Spence said the pair went out for dinner and bowling in Norwich.
They then went for drinks in numerous pubs in the city but were spotted arguing in one before they headed back to Ms McAuley's flat.
The court heard how blooded footprints were found over the flat as well as blood splatters in the bathroom and kitchen.
Exhaled blood was also found on numerous walls.
Mr Spence told the jury how in the early hours of January 8 Storey is said to have called a friend and said 'I've hurt her' or 'I'm hurt'.
He also said that Kerri was drunk but that she was alright - which the prosecution says must have been 'a clear lie'.
The next morning it is said that Storey went to the same friend's house while drunk.
He was wearing a shirt which was 'covered in blood' and Prosecutor Spence explained how he claimed he had 'gotten into a fight'.
He later threw the shirt into the bin. When it was taken as evidence and analysed it was revealed that the blood it was covered in belonged solely to Ms McAuley.
Describing his actions, Mr Spence said: 'He perpetuated the story she was fine.
'At around 10am on January 8 he asked to go to Kerri's flat. He went inside and spent around five or ten minutes there.
'When he returned he seemed completely normal.
'He told his friend Kerri was there. Kerri was lying dead on the floor.'
Miss McAuley's body was eventually found when her ex-partner called her mother to say he had been unable to contact her. He had been looking after her children but was due to drop them off.
Using a spare key the mother and brother let themselves into her flat and discovered her body - a sight Mr Spence said 'will no doubt haunt them for the rest of their lives'.
A bloodied mattress was also found in the living room of Ms McAuley's flat and her and her clothes were 'covered in blood'.
Police tracked Storey to his friend's flat and arrested him on suspicion of murder.
He was interviewed under caution and refused comment throughout, the jury were told. Storey's phone was seized and Ms McAuley's phone was later found smashed and covered in blood at her flat.
A selfie was found on on Storey's phone taken at 6.38am on the day of Ms McAuley's death with his face covered in blood.
The prosecution also detailed how 'literally thousands' of text messages between the two were sent from May 2016 to Jan 2017.
Mr Spence said: 'They showed a relationship in which Kerri was trying to keep away from the defendant.
'But through a number of methods that I would call emotional blackmail he managed to keep them meeting up. The amount of calls and texts was overwhelming.'
Google searches found on the phone included 'how much money can you send a prisoner'.
The prosecution stated this showed that 'he was clearly planning ahead rather than calling any help for Kerri'.
Mr Spence added: 'Either he didn't care for her welfare at all or he knew she was dead beyond help.'
The court heard how following a previous attack the prosecution say was by Storey in 2016, Ms McAuley shared five pictures of her bruised face.
Alongside these she said: 'My ex, who claims he loves me, beat and suffocated me until I almost passed out.
'It has left me with a broken cheek and a broken heart. It's out there and maybe now I can move on.'
The trial, which is expected to last for two weeks, continues.
