A man spent the afternoon drinking with his neighbour before stabbing him to death, a court has heard.
Jeffrey Kelly today went on trial accused of murder after knifing 49-year-old Derek Burns in the heart, following an alleged disagreement over building work. Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Wednesday, that police and paramedics were called to the scene on Newsham Drive in Tuebrook shortly before 7pm on May 15 this year.
Andrew O'Byrne KC, prosecuting, described how an air ambulance with a doctor on board also attended and found that Mr Burns had been stabbed "more than once".
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An ultimately fatal wound had seen his heart punctured. He died at 7.55pm that day as a result of his injuries.
The property was a house which had been divided into four apartments, with Mr Burns living in a downstairs unit and Kelly upstairs. They, along with fellow tenants David Bowness and Gemma Buxton, had spent the Sunday afternoon drinking together and "all was well", with "no difficulty".
In the early evening, Ms Buxton "became aware of some sort of altercation". She went to the 56-year-old defendant's flat after hearing Mr Burns shouting, and attempted to perform CPR on him after he was severely injured.
Kelly had dialled 999, while Mr Bowness also called the emergency services and said: "F***ing ruthless, ruthless. It's f***ing kicking off, it's f***ing murder."
When officers arrived at the scene, Kelly told them that he had acted in self-defence. He answered no questions under interview, only giving prepared statements.
In them, the killer said he had lived in the property for around eight years while Mr Burns had been a resident for roughly three years. Kelly said that his neighbour had previously manipulated the electricity supply to bypass the meter.
He also claimed that the dad had behaved "abusively and aggressively" towards him during the time he had known him, attacking him with a hammer on one occasion and causing damage to his flooring. On the day in question, he reported that Mr Burns had "asked him to assist with building work".
Kelly - who wore a black suit, white shirt and black tie in the dock and had short grey hair - stated that he "became verbally abusive" when he refused and was followed back to his flat. He had managed to shut the door behind him, but Mr Burns began kicking it.
"In a state of panic and in fear for his life", Kelly stated that he had picked up a knife to "act as a deterrent" then opened the door with the aim of defusing the situation. When he did so, he reported that Mr Burns had grabbed him by throat - leading to him using the weapon.
His statements also referenced another recent occasion on which his adversary had apparently been arrested for an "act of violence" involving a machete. When examined in custody, Kelly was found to have "no injuries of any significance".
A post-mortem investigation found that Mr Burns sustained three stab wounds to his chest and one to the upper neck, while there was an "absence of classic self-defence wounds". The pathologist concluded that he had been subjected to a "violent and sustained altercation".
Mr O'Byrne told a jury of seven men and five women: "He used the knife against the deceased, and did so unlawfully and was not acting in self-defence. It was with that weapon that he intended at the very least to cause Mr Burns very serious injury, or to kill him.
"Mr Kelly does not deny that he killed Derek Burns, but he maintains he was acting in self-defence. A person is entitled to act in self-defence, and in doing so a person who acts in self-defence is entitled to use reasonable and proportionate force.
"We make it quite plain that this was murder and not manslaughter. In effect, we say his actions in stabbing Mr Burns were not reasonable nor proportionate in the circumstances."
Mr Bowness was called to give evidence from the witness box on the first day of the trial. He told jurors that he had only lived in the address for around a month at the time.
The witness said the occupants had been "getting on well" during the afternoon of May 15, before he went back to his room to listen to dance music on his headphones. Mr Bowness became aware of Kelly and Mr Burns arguing and swearing and went to see what was happening.
He said: "I seen the body lying on the floor with a knife wound. He was white as a ghost."
Andrew Radcliffe KC, defending, referred to a statement given to police in which Mr Bowness had referred to Mr Burns as a "bit of a hard man". He disagreed that this was the case, but confirmed he had left the drinking session in the garden as he had been "making offensive comments".
Ms Buxton too was called to give evidence, and said she saw Mr Burns "kicking Jeff's door and shouting at him to get out" - telling him "get out here you s***bag, stuff like that". She added: "As soon as Jeff opened the door, Derek came towards Jeff.
"His back was to me, so I couldn't see exactly what was going on. It was like he had an electric shock, and he flew - he flew towards my left.
"I didn't understand what was happening at that time, I thought maybe Jeff had uppercutted him or something. He landed at my feet.
"I thought he was joking about. He was totally still and his eyes were wide open, but his face was relaxed so I thought he was joking."
It was then that Kelly phoned the emergency services as she "went into first aid mode". Ms Buxton stated that he had said during the call: "I've stabbed my mate up."
Kelly denies murder and manslaughter. The trial, before Judge Denis Watson KC, continues and is expected to last around five days.
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