Man on trial for murder of his cousin told jurors "I didn't think he would die"

Lee Wall said he "lashed out" while holding a knife he had taken off Daryl Fowler in a panic during a struggle.

Wall said he "didn't realise" Mr Fowler was badly injured and had not intended to hurt or kill him.

Newcastle Crown Court heard 28-year-old Mr Fowler and his girlfriend Coreena Jamieson had gone to the home Wall shared with girlfriend Emma Brown on September 11 last year and got into a violent argument.

Prosecutors claim during the violence, at Leam Lane in Gateshead, Wall murdered Mr Fowler by stabbing him in the abdomen twice.

Mr Fowler, who was living with his grandmother in South Shields at the time, had emergency treatment at the scene and in hospital but died in the early hours of the following day.

Wall, 43, of no fixed address, denies murder and is being tried by a jury.

Giving evidence, Wall has told jurors Mr Fowler was his cousin but considered him "like a brother".

He said he is "devastated" about what happened and the impact on his loved ones, adding: "I know they loved Daryl, he was a brilliant lad. He had his faults but nobody deserves this."

Wall told jurors he would see Mr Fowler "every day" and that they and their girlfriends had been shopping together on September 11 last year.

Wall said Mr Fowler was in a "bad mood" and was "pretty hammered" after drinking and taking drugs.

He told jurors the couples had gone their separate ways after the shopping trip but Mr Fowler and Miss Jamieson had turned up at the house again.

He said Mr Fowler accused Miss Brown of stealing valium from him when they entered the house.

Wall said as a result of the confrontation, Miss Brown ordered Mr Fowler out of the house.

He added: "She started to push him out towards the front door.

"I didn't see exactly what happened next, I got up.

"I heard him shouting. I saw Daryl crack Emma, on her face."

Wall said Miss Brown ended up on the ground as a result of being hit and added: "I came out and tried to help Emma up, I was trying to help her up and she screamed 'get the knife off him'. "

Wall said he had not seen a knife until that point but then realised Mr Fowler was armed and took the weapon from him.

He told jurors: "I got the knife off him.

"Emma was up and started fighting with Coreena.

"I said 'howay Daryl, what you doing, calm down'.

"He was shouting and balling, saying we are family and this, that and the other.

"I said 'well calm down then'.

"He just came for me, I turned to the side, he was shouting 'give me my knife back'.

"I thought he was going to try and snatch the knife out of my hand.

"He got me in a headlock. He was shouting 'I'm going to do you, I'm going to do you'."

When questioned by his barrister Robert Woodcock QC, Wall said he still had the knife in his hand at that point but did not realise that he did.

Wall added: "I just panicked, I started seeing spots, I thought I was going to black out, I just lashed out.

"I hit him twice, to get him off me."

Wall told the court when he realised Mr Fowler was badly hurt he told Coreena to call for an ambulance.

He added: "I didn't think he would die, I didn't expect him to die."

Jurors have heard a post mortem revealed Mr Fowler had suffered two stab wounds.

One caused damage to his bowel and pancreas and the other damaged his aorta, a main artery in the body, which ultimately caused cardiac arrest.

The trial continues.

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