Father, stabbed in row over noise

Oct 10 2007 by Sam Wood, The Journal

THREE teenagers stabbed a father to death after he confronted them over their rowdy behaviour, Newcastle Crown Court was told yesterday.

Kevin Johnson was going to bed when he heard noises outside his home in Partick Road, Pennywell, Sunderland, just after midnight on May 19 this year.

Three males challenged him to a fight and the 22-year-old went outside to confront them.

He was surrounded by the group and fatally stabbed in the chest.

The group then ran off laughing and shouting. They later confronted and stabbed Jamie Thompson, who was walking to meet his girlfriend, the court heard.

Fortunately Mr Thompson survived the attack.

Dean Curtis, 19, of Forest Road, Ford Estate, Sunderland and two youths, aged 16 and 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, all deny murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The Court was told that Mr Johnson, father to a seven-month-old son, lived with his fiancée Adele Brett, 26, and her seven-year-old child from a previous relationship.

They had been out for the evening to a nearby pub and were going to bed when they heard shouting from their street.

Mr Johnson went to the front bedroom window to see where the noise was coming from. Giving evidence Ms Brett said her fiancé had then gone outside, into the street.

“I went out into the garden and saw two men fighting with Kevin. A third was stood watching from the road,” she said.

“I shouted that I was going to call the police and went inside to get the phone. When I came back out the three were running off. Kevin walked back towards the house and collapsed. He was unconscious.”

Ms Brett called an ambulance and Mr Johnson was taken to Sunderland Royal Infirmary where he died.

Prosecutor Robert Woodcock told the jury that the three defendants were enticing Mr Johnson out of his home for a fight.

“Kevin was heard to shout: ‘If you want to fight just one on one and not the three of you,” he said.

“They were beckoning with their hands, walking away from Kevin, clearly enticing Kevin to come towards them.

“All three were closing in on Kevin.

“Two got closer to Kevin. As he backed away he appeared to stumble and fall to the floor.

“He got back up and one of the males, the one furthest away, threw a rock or brick at him. It missed and fortunately fell on the road.

“Kevin said: ’You couldn’t fight with your hands. You’ve stabbed me’ and collapsed over a wall struggling for breath.”

The court was told that after fatally stabbing Mr Johnson, Curtis and the two youths ran off in a “heightened state”.

On nearby Geddes Road they damaged two cars and were heard shouting about stabbing Mr Johnson.

“These are probably part phrases of triumphalism about what they had just done,” Mr Woodcock told the jury.

The court was told that on the night Mr Johnson died the three defendants had been out together drinking.

After the attack the court was told that the three went to several friends’ houses and began boasting of the stabbing.

The trial continues.