A former warehouse worker drove a knifeman away from the scene of a brutal stabbing and hid his coat for him in a bid to thwart investigators.
Nathan Corlett, 26, of Wellingford Avenue, Widnes, appeared for sentence at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to one count of assisting an offender over the events of the night of December 19, 2021. Henry Riding, prosecuting, said it was around 1am on December 20 when Corlett drove from Widnes to Warrington on request to pick up Lee Ashton - who only just over an hour earlier had knifed Robert Bassnett, who was in a relationship with Ashton's ex-partner.
The attack left Mr Bassnett staggering in search of help with the blade still stuck in his back and found collapsed in the road by a passing ambulance - potentially saving his life. Mr Riding said Corlett dropped off Ashton at the Holiday Inn, Runcorn, then took a bag containing Ashton’s coat and possibly other clothes that might have provided vital forensic clues such as DNA and hid them behind bins at another associate’s address.
