Knife killer did not think leg wound would be fatal

Jun 12 2009 by Neil Preston, The Journal

GOOD Samaritan Deka Kennedy’s killer told jurors he stabbed his victim in the leg so he could get away, but didn’t think it would “cause that much damage”.

Paul Morrison claimed he always carried a black-handled knife for protection after being threatened in a row over a stolen camera.

He had the five to six-inch long weapon hidden in his pocket as he clashed with his own girlfriend near the Eureka pub in Frederick Street, South Shields.

And when he felt Mr Kennedy punch him three times in the head and face, he went for the knife in fear, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Morrison, 26, told the jury: “I could hear voices in the background shouting, coming from the Eureka end of the street and getting closer.

“I feared I was going to be seriously injured and began to panic. I pulled the knife out of my right pocket and I opened the knife.”

Moments later, Morrison sank the blade into 29-year-old Mr Kennedy’s groin, severing a major artery and piercing deep into a bone, the court has heard.

The wound caused “catastrophic” bleeding which claimed Mr Kennedy’s life despite surgeons carrying out an emergency operation.

Morrison, of no fixed address, told the jury: “I intended to stab him in the leg so I could get away, but I didn’t think it would cause much damage.”

He admits manslaughter and common assault over the incident in January this year, but denies murder on the grounds of lack of intent to kill or cause serious injury.