A partygoer took a large knife from a kitchen “for the sole purpose of defending himself” before stabbing a dad-of-two, a court heard.
A barrister defending Adam Fletcher told jurors in his trial he was acting in self defence when he fatally wounded Paul Stenson as arguments in the case continue to draw to a close.
Fletcher allegedly murdered Mr Stenson on Princess Drive on December 19 - 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.
READ MORE: Bully locked woman and her pug in room and beat them for hours
Prosecutors say that knife wound inflicted “catastrophic” damage, going straight through Mr Stenson’s heart and causing him 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.
Fletcher admits stabbing Paul Stenson but says he acted in self defence and feared his own life was in danger in the moments before he stabbed the dad-of-two. He 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.
Speaking this morning, Peter Finnegan QC, defending Fletcher, told jurors evidence provided by Fletcher both before and during the trial suggested he felt there was a threat to his own life.
Fletcher has maintained that after Mr Stenson punched him in the kitchen of the house he felt he was under attack from Mr Stenson and a number of his friends. He also told the jury that he thought he was going to be stabbed after he said he heard a man, who has not been identified, saying he was going to get “poked up”.
Mr Finnegan said: “He has told you that following the attack on him in the kitchen by Paul Stenson and his associates he was ordered outside where he believed - and that is important - he believed, because he had been told so, that he was going to ‘get poked up’. That of course means he was going to get stabbed.”
“Being forced outside as he was, he picked up a knife out of the knife block for the sole purpose of defending himself.”
Mr Finnegan said the reference to him getting “poked up” made him fear that others had knives - even though there is no evidence that anyone else there did have one on them.
He said: “None of us knows whether they had knives, maybe they did or maybe they didn’t. Adam Fletcher never saw one but he says he heard someone say he was ‘going to get poked up’.” He continued: “Putting yourself in his shoes, you would have had real fear about how this was going to play out, wouldn’t you?”
Mr Finnegan said it was in this context that Fletcher grabbed the knife from the kitchen before he went outside and that it was when Mr Stenson went to punch him that he lashed out with the knife, stabbing him in the heart, causing him to bleed to death.
Fletcher then ran off and was in hiding for a number of days. It is at this point that Susie Lee, Nathan Finnegan and Demi Walsh are purported to have helped him evade justice.
Peter Finnegan QC said texts sent by Fletcher in the aftermath of the incident show that he believed his life was in danger, causing him to delay going to police. He said other evidence, such as a video posted on Instagram containing a veiled threat against Fletcher, supported that assertion. Mr Finnegan said Fletcher, who was arrested on December 23 and has been on trial for more than four weeks, maintained from the start that he stabbed Mr Stenson in self defence and he urged the jury to find him not guilty of murder on that basis.
This afternoon, the court also heard closing speeches from Robin Howat, defending Demi Walsh, while closing speeches on behalf of Susie Lee and Nathan Finnegan will be heard tomorrow. A closing speech for the prosecution was given by Richard Pratt QC yesterday.
READ NEXT: Raoul Moat 'gone too soon' memorial removed by council
Liverpool heatwave updates and travel advice as temperatures soar
Liverpool Council chief executive Tony Reeves resigns
'Strange' symptom of new covid strain affecting people at night
Liverpool heatwave updates and travel advice as temperatures soar
