Mentally-ill man stabbed dad to death in ‘intense, brutal’ attack
VICTIM ‘PURE RED FROM BLOOD’
MURDER trial witnesses have told a jury how they tried in vain to help save a Nottingham father who had been stabbed 75 times by his mentally-ill son in less than three minutes.
In statements read out in court, one said Brenton Marriott’s head was “pure red from blood” and heard him saying “he’s stabbed me, he’s stabbed me” as the man tried to use a towel to stem the bleeding.
Another witness said he saw the 58-year-old victim “flop” and then “collapse at the end of a driveway” outside the alleged killer’s Lenton address.
And a police officer who was one of the first on the scene said he cut off Mr Marriott’s T-shirt and jacket and could see “a large puncture wound to his back”.
Rudi Marriott is on trial at Nottingham Crown Court for the murder of his father, who he admits he stabbed multiple times at his Cloister Street, Lenton, address in August 2022.
He denies the charge, saying he was acting in self-defence.
Lee Hudson and Chay Bray were building a shed at an address nearby on the morning of the killing. Prosecutor Sarah Knight read out their police statements as evidence.
Mr Hudson said: “I saw something out of the corner of my eye and looked to the left towards the road. I then realised there was a male lying on the pavement at the end of the driveway.
“I could see he was bleeding really badly to his head. His head was pure red from the blood. I shouted out ‘we need help, someone is bleeding to death’ and I asked for a towel from the lady whose house we were at.
“He was lying almost motionless and I did my best to stop the bleeding to his head. He had multiple stab
wounds, he said ‘he’s stabbed me, he’s stabbed me’ and then ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,’ I think he was choking from the blood.”
Mr Bray, in his statement, said: “Lee was standing outside the gate saying something like ‘he’s covered in blood, we need help.’ I looked to my right from the shed and I saw the male flop and then collapse on the end of the driveway.
“He was looking like he had just finished a marathon and had collapsed from exhaustion. He was on the ground not being able to talk. He was covered in blood, and blood started gathering on the floor around him.”
And in his statement, PC James Dyer said he arrived at the scene and was flagged down by the two workers. He said: “I could see there was a person lying on the floor covered in blood and I saw a large amount of blood on the floor.
“I could see he had suffered significant injuries around his head. I cut off his T-shirt and jacket and could see a large puncture wound to the right side of his back.”
Opening the trial last week, coprosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC told the jury that, before the killing, Rudi Marriott’s family had become increasingly concerned about his declining mental health. Following his arrest, the defendant told nurses he believed his dad had put a chip in the back of his neck and, falsely, that he was having an affair with a former partner of his.
“On August 5, 2022, Rudi Marriott stabbed his father, Brenton Marriott, to death with a knife. The defendant says he acted in self-defence. He did not. He had no reason to defend himself against his father. “In under three minutes, the defendant used a knife to cause his father 75 sharp injuries. The majority of Brenton Marriott’s stab wounds were to his head, where he had 38 injuries. On his right hand there were 20 injuries and on his left shoulder there were four injuries. The 20 injuries to his right hand and two further injuries would have been when Brenton Marriott used his arms to stop the defendant from attacking him. Two wounds were particularly severe. “There was a stab wound to the back of his right shoulder and the knife used to inflict that stab wound travelled through the right shoulder, through the muscle of his neck and cut through the artery that takes oxygenated blood. “The defendant’s three-minute attack on his father was intense, it was sustained and it was brutal. The prosecution says that it was not an attack which was carried out in selfdefence.”
The trial continues.
The defendant says he acted in self-defence. He did not. He had no reason to defend himself
Harpreet Sandhu KC