‘He was still alive when I got there, but before I left I saw heartbeat monitor stop’

WITNESS TELLS MURDER TRIAL OF VIOLENCE WHICH LED TO HIS FRIEND DYING IN GARDEN

A MURDER trial witness has told how he saw a heartbeat monitor “stop” as his friend lay in an Ilkeston garden dying.

The man told a trial how he saw one man alleged to have murdered Byron Griffin produce a machete and others come “bursting out” of a block of flats armed with other weapons.

The witness, whose identity is protected by a court order, said he tried to help 22-year-old Byron, who later collapsed and died.

But he had to retreat as he was “scared for his life”.

Four men are on trial at Derby Crown Court for Mr Griffin’s murder.

Dylan Geary, 22, Daniel Lewsley, 32, Grant James Masterson, 29, and 26-year-old Jordan Fairbrother all deny the charge.

The witness said he had been friends with Mr Griffin (pictured) for a number of years and on the day of the incident the pair had driven from West Bridgford to Ilkeston.

He said that after picking up three other people Mr Griffin knew at one address, the five of them drove into the town and then returned to Great Northern Close around fiveto-10 minutes later.

Prosecutor John Lloyd-jones QC asked the witness: “What happened?”

He replied: “Byron got out of the car as if he knew one of them (the gang) and we got out the car to check it was alright.

“It just went from zero to 100, it just happened so quick, within seconds it was kicking off.

“They just started tussling, throwing each other around, the flat doors came open.

“One of the lads pulled a machete out from behind his back. Byron was trying to get a machete off him.”

Mr Lloyd-jones asked: “Were you able to get to Byron?” The witness replied: “No.” Mr Lloyd-jones asked: “Why was that?”

He said: “Because I would have got stabbed.

“They all came bursting out (of the flats), they all came running out like they were prepared.

“There was no talking involved, they were swinging whatever weapons they had on them.”

Mr Lloyd-jones asked: “How did you feel about this?”

The witness replied: “Scared for my life.”

The prosecutors asked: “Did you see Byron (get) stabbed?” He said: “I didn’t.”

Mr Lloyd-jones said: “Did you see who stabbed him?”

The witness replied: “I didn’t, I saw Byron run down an alleyway.”

Mr Lloyd-jones asked: “When you went to Ilkeston that day were you armed with weapons?”

He said: “No, none of us were armed with weapons.”

The prosecutor said: “Did you go down a side road and see Byron in a garden?”

The witness replied: “Yes, I saw an ambulance there, he was still alive when I got there but before I left I saw the heartbeat monitor stop.”

Opening the case on the first day of the trial, Mr Lloyd-jones played the jury CCTV footage of Mr Griffin crashing through a fence after a knife was plunged into his chest.

The short clip followed Mr Griffin as he stumbled to the ground clutching his wound and then disappearing off the screen up the street where he then collapsed.

He then told the man whose front garden he lay bleeding heavily in “I have been stabbed”.

Mr Lloyd-jones said: “Whatever disagreement started this incident, Byron Griffin did not need to be stabbed.

“He was unarmed, separated from his friends and was effectively defenceless.

“A kitchen knife has been plunged into his chest.”

The trial has heard how police were called to reports Mr Griffin was found with two stab wounds in Eyre’s Garden, Ilkeston, at around 12.40pm on Sunday, July 4, last year.

The alleged victim, from East Leake, was taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre, in Nottingham, where he was declared deceased shortly after 2pm.

Mr Lloyd-jones said that shortly before 1pm on the day of the stabbing, Mr Griffin and four of his friends arrived at one of the car parks outside the Great Northern Close flats in a blue Ford Focus.

The prosecutor said that as they did so, Masterson was outside and Mr Griffin got out of the car and the two began fighting.

He said: “Almost immediately, the three other defendants came out of the nearby block of flats - the group were all armed.

“Masterson had access to a hidden baseball bat, Geary had a machete, Lewsley had an extendable police-style baton and Fairbrother was carrying a knife.

“We say the fact they all appeared so quickly is that they were ready for an ambush.

“Masterson picked up a baseball bat hidden behind a drainpipe and hit Mr Griffin with it.

“A friend of Byron Griffin, who had got out of the car, was able to disarm Mr Masterson and hit him on the head with it.

“As the incident developed, Mr Griffin became separated from his friends. Witnesses saw Dylan Geary hit him with a machete and witnesses also saw Jordan Fairbrother waving a knife around, go up to Byron Griffin and stab him in the chest with it.”

Mr Lloyd-jones said the knife was later recovered by the police who found it hidden in a large bag of dog food at one of the defendants’ flats.

He said on it was the DNA of both Fairbrother and Lewsley.

Mr Lloyd-jones told the jury there is evidence that three of the gang had chased Mr Byron before returning to the car park.

He said: “Fairbrother was overheard to say to Masterson ‘he’s done, he’s not coming back.’

“Jordan Fairbrother was right because Byron Griffin was done, he did not come back.”

Mr Lloyd-jones said the stab wound to his chest had passed between two ribs and penetrated his heart causing the death.

The trial of Geary, Lewsley and Masterson, all of Great Northern Close - and Fairbrother, of Nelson Street, Swadlincote, continues.