I heard bang I thought he’d had a seizure
ALLEGED killer Jonathan Armstrong told a court he did not cause his lover’s fatal injuries at their seaside flat.
Prosecutors claim the 45-year-old struck partner Dean Bowe, causing him to fall and hit his head and sustain catastrophic brain injuries which killed him.
But Armstrong, who denies manslaughter, insists the 32-year-old fell and hit his head while having a seizure at their home on South Parade, in Whitley Bay.
The former soldier was cleared by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court of a separate charge of GBH from December 2015, at the direction of the trial judge.
Giving evidence to jurors, he said they had fallen out one night last September and Mr Bowe had gone to a bedroom while he was going to sleep in the living room.
Armstrong, who said Mr Bowe had suffered seizures due to his alcoholism, told the court: “I heard the sound of him getting up then I heard a loud bang coming from the bedroom, it sounded like a body going over.
“When I got in he had fallen. When I approached him he started to convulse.”
Armstrong said he cradled his lover’s head and put him in the recovery position and he stopped convulsing.
He claimed their landline phone had been damaged by Mr Bowe in a row earlier and neither of them had a mobile for him to call for help.
Armstrong said: “When I went back in the bedroom Dean was snoring and there was a little trickle of blood coming from his nose.
“I started getting distressed because I realised it was not a normal seizure.”
Nicholas Lumley QC, for Armstrong, asked him: “Did you think at that point he had a serious head injury?” He replied: “No.” Asked what he thought had happened, he said: “I thought Dean had had a seizure, he had fallen, he was not coming round. I thought the seizure was over and he had gone into a deep sleep.”
Mr Lumley asked: “Did you punch him full in the face, sending him to the floor?”
Armstrong replied: “No, absolutely not.” He said he decided to go out to raise the alarm.
Mr Lumley asked: “Had you done anything to him to get him into that state?”
Armstrong, who became upset, said: “No.”
Mr Lumley said: “Had you done anything wrong?”
He replied: “No, I had not done anything wrong at all.” South Parade in Whitley Bay
After Mr Bowe was taken to hospital in an ambulance, Armstrong went to Asda, believing the man he loved was not badly injured and would be coming home, he said.
He added: “I was surprised when the police came to Asda and arrested me. I couldn’t believe I was being arrested.”
Mr Lumley said: “You face the allegation you killed him. How do you feel about what happened to Dean?”
Armstrong said: “I couldn’t believe it. I’m still in a state of shock.
“I was just hoping Dean would wake up and tell them what had happened.”
Armstrong confirmed the police and ambulance service were regularly called to their flat.
Nicholas Lumley QC, for Armstrong, said: “Do you accept from time to time you let yourself down in the way you behaved towards Dean?” He replied: “Absolutely”. Armstrong denies manslaughter and the trial continues.