Row over whisky ‘led to murder’
Blows inflicted as defenceless man lay on kitchen floor, court told
A‘ DEFENCELESS’ man died 10 days after a violent attack in his Accrington home, a murder trial was told.
Christopher Singleton, 37, is on trial for murder, following an alleged attack at Raich Alcock’s flat on Arnold Street.
Mr Alcock died in hospital on September 16 last year, the day of his 52nd birthday.
Gordon Cole QC, prosecuting, told the jury Mr Singleton followed Mr Alcock home after an argument over a bottle of whisky.
He claimed the defendant ‘repeatedly hit’ Mr Alcock when he was ‘incapable of putting up any resistance’.
Mr Singleton, formerly of Derby Street, Accrington, denies murder.
The trial continues.
ADRUNK man ‘launched a violent attack which led to the defenceless victim’s death 10 days later’, a court was told.
Christopher Singleton, 37, is standing trial accused of the murder of Raich Keith Alcock, following an alleged attack at Mr Alcock’s flat in Accrington.
Prosecutors claim the defendant ‘repeatedly hit’ Mr Alcock to the face with a ‘clenched fist’ and that the 51-year-old was ‘incapable of fighting back, incapable of defending himself and incapable of putting up any resistance whatsoever’.
Mr Singleton, formerly of Derby Street, Accrington, denies murder.
Gordon Cole QC, prosecuting, told the jury at Preston Crown Court that the alleged attack took place both inside and outside Mr Alcock’s flat on Arnold Street in the early hours of September 6 last year.
The court heard that Mr Alcock had been drinking in Accrington town centre with several ‘friends and acquaintances’ and that at one point Mr Singleton ‘took offence’ to him being ‘loud’.
The defendant was also reported to be left ‘angry’ and ‘unhappy’ after Mr Alcock was seen to push Mr Singleton’s left arm.
Mr Cole said that Mr Singleton became ‘aggressive’ towards Mr Alcock and then decided to follow him back home ‘with one aim in mind and that was to inflict violence’.
The jury was told that when Mr Alcock arrived at the back door to his house Mr Singleton allegedly punched him once to the face, which caused him to bang his head on a wall and ‘knocked him to the ground’.
Mr Singleton is alleged to have then carried Mr Alcock into his kitchen and ‘dropped him onto the floor’, before mistaking ‘snoring’ noises as ‘Mr Alcock laughing at him’.
Mr Cole told the jury that Mr Singleton then stood over Mr Alcock, grabbed him by his top and punched him with a clenched fist so he ‘banged his head on the kitchen floor’.
He said: “He did that on more than one occasion, picking him up, hitting him and knocking him back.
“It must have been completely obvious, whatever stage of inebriation you are in, that Mr Alcock was incapable of fighting back, incapable of defend- ing himself and incapable of putting up any resistance whatsoever.
“To do that to somebody, repeatedly hitting them to the face, when he was clearly unconscious reflects at the very least an intention on the part of this defendant to inflict really serious harm.”
The jury was told that no ambulance was called until Mr Alcock’s friend Peter Cornish found him at 10.30am the next morning ‘semi-conscious slumped on his kitchen floor’.
Mr Alcock was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital and then later transferred to Royal Preston with ‘serious head injuries’. He passed away 10 days later on September 16 – the day of his 52nd birthday.
A post-mortem carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Naomi Carter found Mr Alcock suffered a subdural haemorrhage and contusions to the brain ‘consistent with blows to the back of his head’, the jury heard.
Mr Cole said Mr Alcock also suffered a ‘large fracture running round the base of the skull’ and fractures to both plates of the bones above the eye sockets which are ‘consistent with the blows caused by the defendant’.
When Mr Singleton was arrested and interviewed by police he said he had only punched Mr Alcock once on a car park and it was in ‘self-defence’.
However, Mr Cole told the jury: “Essentially, and it remains to be seen, the defendant seems to be saying that he denied any other blows and we say that’s not the truth and the medical evidence supports that assertion it’s not true. We say this was a violent attack on Raich Alcock, a man in his own home who was rendered unconscious. He suffered fatal head injuries and at the very least this defendant intended to inflict really serious harm.”
Proceeding
‘We say this was a violent attack on Raich’