A son allegedly murdered his dad by "volleying" him in the head in a "brutal and totally unforgiving" attack.
Neil Badrock admits killing Neil Farrington following a "pub crawl" on the first day after lockdown ended last year.
Prosecutors say Mr Farrington, 51, went to The Mainbrace in Kirkby to try and calm his son down, after the 27-year-old had argued with another man and texted his father to say: "I will bite his f***ing windpipe out if I have to."
READ MORE: Dad of two's alleged killer set for murder trial
But a jury today heard Badrock ended up attacking his dad in the street, where police allegedly found him kicking Mr Farrington in the head and shouting: "What do you think about that?"
Badrock, of Kenbury Close, Kirkby, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, denies his dad's murder.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Badrock went to The Carters Arms, at around 1pm, on Monday, May 17, 2021.
From there he texted a friend, saying: "I've just worked 12 days straight, so I'm getting smashed today."
Guy Gozem, QC, prosecuting, said after a few drinks Badrock headed to The Railway pub, before going on to The Mainbrace, where he got "very drunk".
He said by around 6pm, Badrock had "fallen out" with a man who was playing snooker, and started texting his dad.
Mr Gozem said: "Things had apparently got to the stage of offers to go outside to sort things out and the defendant got himself extremely worked up and angry about it."
The court heard in one text, Badrock told his dad "I will bite his f***ing windpipe out if I have to", before adding in another: "Not having some b***end ask me out, I will f***ing smash his little head in if I have to, I’m not soft."
In a further text, Mr Gozem said Badrock told his father: "I will smash his head in if I have to."
The jury heard Mr Farrington advised his son to leave, replying: "It's all macho bulls***. Just get off home or elsewhere - use your loaf, it ain't worth it lad."
Mr Gozem said Badrock responded saying he would "smash the man's head in" and calling him a "gobs****".
The prosecutor said his dad replied: "Think you need to go home, you sound half bevvied and you're vulnerable then - got too much to lose lad."
Mr Gozem said: "But it was water off a duck's back. The defendant continued to rant. And not long after 6.30pm, we know the father and son spoke on the phone for about 10 minutes.
"We don't know what was said between them, but whatever it was doesn't seem to have worked, at least in the sense of the son removing himself from the pub.
"Because very soon afterwards, Neil Farrington left home and took a bus down to the Mainbrace, you may think to try and give his son some face-to-face advice about calming down, staying safe and getting off home."
Mr Gozem said the pair were at the pub together until after 11pm, but "things didn't calm down".
He said: "Certainly it ended badly in the pub, with the defendant shouting and swearing at his father, and telling him to 'f*** off'.
"That final outburst perhaps not surprisingly led to him being asked to leave the pub. He headed off on his own, carrying with him his drink in a plastic cup."
The court heard shortly afterwards the dad followed after his son, meeting him close to the junction of Whitefield Drive and Kirkby Row.
Mr Gozem said a "very distant" CCTV camera at Kirkby train station captured what happened next, on "quite grainy" footage.
He said: "Neil Badrock may well go to the ground and almost immediately get up again, then Neil Farrington goes to the ground and he never gets up again. Literally, he never gets up again."
The prosecutor said from the evidence of witnesses, including those who made 999 calls, it appeared Badrock headbutted his dad, who "went straight down to the ground, onto the pavement and stayed there".
He said: "His son continued to attack him as he lay there. The descriptions of what he did to his father include kicking his head, punching his head, 'volleying' his head, banging his head on the pavement and stamping on his head."
Mr Gozem suggested one "very important aspect" of what happened was the timing of events, which demonstrated police arrived "a full five minutes" after Mr Farrington was "headbutted" to the ground.
He said: "It’s important that timing, because when police arrived, the officers found Neil Farrington was still laid out on the floor, his head was covered in blood, and Neil Badrock was continuing to kick his head, saying and shouting: 'What do you think about that?'
"Plainly what Neil Badrock did to his father has nothing to do with self-defence. What he did was in one sense tragic - a son killing his father. But it was, you may conclude, ferocious, brutal, and totally unforgiving, going on as it did for such an extended period."
The jury heard after police "stopped the attack", Mr Farrington was taken to hospital, where he was "barely conscious".
Mr Gozem said he was having difficulty breathing and a CT scan revealed "significant head trauma"; extensive facial and scalp swelling and bruising; bleeding inside the skull; brain bruising and swelling; and a fracture of the skull.
The court heard he was put in an induced coma, but attempts to wean him off a ventilator were unsuccessful, and he died on Monday, June 21.
Mr Gozem told the jury: "This morning, the defendant pleaded guilty to manslaughter. That plea is not acceptable to the prosecution. The prosecution suggest this is plainly a case of murder."
He said it was the prosecution case that Badrock intended either to kill his father, or "at least" to cause him really serious harm, which Badrock denies.
(Proceeding)
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