Tragedy a ‘terrible accident’ – accused
MURDER accused Richard Lee has said his “close friend’s” death was a “terrible, terrible accident” that will haunt him for the rest of his life – but denies intending to stab him.
The 25-year-old says Ryan Thompson died following a tragic “misunderstanding” when he arrived on the scene of a failed burglary.
When Lee became aware of youths pinching motorbikes from a locked garage near his girlfriend’s home, he armed himself with a knife and went out bare-chested to confront them.
But, prosecutors claim, even when the would-be thieves fled the scene, intoxicated Lee’s anger did not subside.
When Mr Thompson, the owner of the bikes, came on the scene at Gregson Street, in Sacriston, County Durham, there was a confrontation between the two men and Mr Thompson struck out at Lee. Prosecutors say Lee then chased 25-year-old Mr Thompson down an alley, “jabbing and lunging with the knife” and stabbing him in the chest, causing a fatal wound.
But giving evidence to jurors at Newcastle Crown Court, Lee said he was merely trying to “scare off” Mr Thompson after he arrived on the scene and thought Lee had stolen the bikes. The defendant claimed a group of men including Thompson got out of a car and started attacking him after “getting the wrong end of the stick”.
He said he was waving the knife at them in order to get them to “back off and let me explain”, before catching Mr Thompson with a “wild swing”.
Lee told the court: “They were under the impression I was pinching the bikes.
“I was being called a dirty f ****** thief, I was going to get my head smashed in for something they thought had happened.”
Asked by his barrister Chris Henley when he was aware Ryan had been hurt, Lee said: “I seen him clawing at my shoulder and as he was walking back I said to myself I thought the knife must have caught him.”
Lee said he then “freaked out” and fled the scene, dropping the knife down a drain.
“I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. I know I should have stayed but I didn’t,” he said.
“It all happened in seconds – I went from thinking I was going to get a pat on the back for helping him get the bikes back, to the next thing I’ve caught him with a knife.
“If I knew how serious it was I wouldn’t have run, I would have stayed and tried to help him.”
Lee described Mr Thompson as “a close friend, a lad I’ve known all my life”.
He told the jury: “I’ve got no words to say how I feel. My heart breaks for him and his family.
“It was a terrible, terrible accident. I certainly didn’t mean for this to happen, I think about it every day.
“It’s tragic and it will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
During cross examination by prosecutor John Elvidge QC, Lee denied saying he was going to “stab someone” and shouting “I’m Richie Lee, this is my street”.
When asked why he was making gestures with the knife as if stabbing someone, he replied: “I don’t know, it was silly.”
In response to the suggestion he deliberately stabbed Mr Thompson, Lee said: “I went out and put myself on the line with four lads because they were his bikes – if it was someone else’s bikes I wouldn’t have done that.”
The trial continues.
I wasn’t thinking straight at the time. I know I should have stayed but I didn’t
Richard Lee