The friends of a man accused of murdering a beloved dad lashed out after an Instagram post about his death, a court heard.
Adam Fletcher allegedly murdered Paul Stenson outside a home on Princess Drive in West Derby on December 18 last year - only hours after the two met at a party there. After an argument between the two turned into a scuffle and they were asked to go outside, Fletcher is said to have grabbed a kitchen knife from inside the home before hiding it behind his back, pulling Mr Stenson towards him and plunging it into his side.
Prosecutors say that knife wound inflicted “catastrophic” damage, causing Mr Stenson to bleed to death quickly. They also say Fletcher, 28, tried to dodge justice for days after the killing with the help of his then girlfriend, Susie Lee, ex Demi Walsh and best friend Nathan Finnegan.
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Fletcher stands accused of murder and of possessing a bladed article. Lee, Walsh and Finnegan are all accused of assisting an offender, while Lee also faces an additional charge of witness intimidation. The four deny all the charges and are currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
The trial restarted this morning after a break and saw jurors hear evidence of extensive phone calls, texts and voicemails between Fletcher and Lee, Walsh and Finnegan in the days after Mr Stenson’s death. The jury had already heard evidence from prosecutors that Fletcher fled from the scene moments after the stabbing.
Extensive logs produced by officers investigating the case show communication between the four defendants from the hours after the stabbing until Fletcher’s eventual arrest on December 23, 2021. Prosecutors say the messages show clear attempts by Lee, Walsh and Finnegan to help Fletcher evade police.
The messages read in court today appear to show Fletcher and his co-defendants discussing what he should do in the days after the attack and their distress over the reaction to Mr Stenson’s death. One of the messages on Finnegan's phone, which was sent to someone not involved in the court proceedings, came after a social media post about Mr Stenson's death which said: “F***ing b*****ds have put an Instagram post about him, people commenting ‘put the murderers in prison’, f***ing devastated xx.”
A number of other messages appeared to show his worry over facing justice for the killing and concerns about going to prison. In one message, sent on December 22, he gives an explanation for Mr Stenson’s death that now echoes his defence in court - that he stabbed Mr Stenson in self defence after believing he was going to be seriously attacked.
The message to Walsh, his ex partner and mum of his child, also saw him express concern his story wouldn’t be believed because of how long he had been in hiding. Responding to a message from Walsh encouraging him to go to police and “deal with it”, Fletcher responded: “It was genuinely self defence, they are not going to believe me now it has been too long.”
Prosecutors have previously rejected that version of events, with Mr Pratt last week calling it “a desperate attempt to justify the unjustifiable”.
Proceeding
*An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that a message posted on social media sent after Mr Stenson's death came from Fletcher's phone to Walsh. As the article now makes clear, logs show this was sent by Finnegan to someone not involved in court proceedings. We are happy to clarify this point.
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