Man knifed in leg took hours to die, court hears
Victim immobilised ‘after murder accused fly-kicked him to ground’
A CO Armagh man stabbed to death in his home was allegedly hit with a flying kick to prevent him following his attackers, the High Court heard yesterday.
Prosecutors said Randall Ellis lay bleeding for hours after being subjected to an unprovoked and premeditated knifing.
Details emerged as bail was refused to one of two men charged with the 49-year-old’s murder 12 months ago.
Dean Martin (25), of no fixed abode, is jointly accused along wit h t he v i c t i m’s nephew, 19-year-old David Ellis.
The body of Randall Ellis, also known as ‘Foggy’, was found in his home at Clounagh Park, Portadown, on December 9 last year.
A neighbour had contacted police after spotting “red liquid” she suspected to be blood on the doorstep, the court heard.
Officers forced their way inside to discover bloodied footmarks and the victim lying dead in the hallway with a tourniquet tied around his right leg.
Post-mortem examinations confirmed he had died from a stab wound to the calf.
Prosecution counsel Alice Murray said a towel had been applied in an apparent attempt to stem the flow of blood.
“The bleeding from the stab wound would have been exacerbated by movement such as walking or crawling, and eventually would have resulted in the development of hypovolemic shock and loss of consciousness,” she submitted.
“Death would not have been rapid, and is likely to have been del ayed, possibly fo r some hours.”
A number of witnesses subsequently came forward with further information.
According to one of them, David Ellis said his co-accused “shanked” the victim in the leg after they went to the house.
In i nt e r v i e ws El l i s also claimed Martin fly-kicked his uncle in the chest as they were leaving, Ms Murray disclosed.
Another witness described Martin as having an “obsession with knives”.
He is allegedly linked by DNA tests on blood found on shoes seized from his girlfriend’s home.
Martin told police he was with his partner at the time of the attack and denied knowing David Ellis.
But Ms Murray said the two men were seen together on CCTV at a bar in Portadown and a residence near the scene of the stabbing.
Opposing bail, she claimed: “This was a violent, premeditated and unprovoked attack.
“(Martin) is alleged to have taken a knife and immediately set on the deceased without any warning.
“Once the applicant had allegedly stabbed the deceased he left the scene, but before doing so ensured the deceased could not follow him and his co-accused. He allegedly fly-kicked the deceased in the chest, knocking him to the ground.”
A defence barrister insisted there was nothing connecting Martin to the crime scene.
“There is blood from the deceased on his shoes, and clearly there’s CCTV that he’s in contact with Mr (David) Ellis,” he said.
“But there’s no footprints, no DNA, nothing of that nature found at the scene of the sad death of Mr Ellis Sr.”
He also questioned whether the alleged stabbing in the leg would ultimately result in a prosecution for murder.
Refusing bail, however, Mr Justice Simpson cited claims that Martin has a history of involvement with knives.