A MAN was fatally stabbed outside his brother-in-law’s house, a court has been told.

Preston Crown Court heard how Blackburn dad James Murray was murdered just days after his attacker Lee Kenyon had stabbed another man through the arm in a fight at a petrol station.

Last month Kenyon pleaded guilty to murdering 51-year-old Mr Murray in Largs Road, Blackburn, on October 2, but on the basis he was acting in self-defence and he never meant to kill him.

That was not accepted by the prosecution which meant a trial of issue had to be held. That started yesterday in front of Judge Mark Brown, The Honorary Recorder of Preston, and is scheduled to continue this morning.

The prosecution did accept Kenyon’s guilty pleas to wounding Jordan Barton with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon.

Opening the prosecution’s case, Benjamin Myers QC said Mr Murray had turned up at his brother-in-law’s house shortly before 1.20am on October 2 wanting to settle a family dispute from around a month earlier. Present in the house were Mr Murray’s brother-in-law John Henry, Kenyon and his girlfriend Francesca Haworth.

Mr Myers said: “Mr Murray banged on the window and was shouting at Mr Henry to go outside. Mr Henry told him to go away and said that he did not want to fight him. It appeared that Mr Murray was under the influence of alcohol. He continued to shout and bang on the window.

“Mr Murray went to the front door and Mr Henry together with the defendant and his girlfriend went there together to tell him to go away. Mr Henry left the doorway and at that point went upstairs to where he kept a stun gun. He was ready to use this. As Mr Henry went upstairs Mr Kenyon stepped outside.”

It is the prosecution’s case that Kenyon, 35, of Hall Street, Blackburn then stabbed Mr Murray with a single blow to the chest.

Mr Myers said: “The blow that Lee Kenyon delivered to James Murray was unnecessary and out of all proportion to any threat that Mr Murray posed. Mr Murray had come to the house of John Henry minuted before he was stabbed . He appeared to be intoxicated and he was upset and maybe even angry. It is apparent that there was a pre-existing dispute between him and John Henry.”

Such were the severity of his injuries, Mr Murray was pronounced dead at Royal Blackburn Hospital at 2.08am.

The court heard that Kenyon ran off and was arrested at a house in Heatley Close, Blackburn, at 11am on October 3.

During police interview he provided a prepared statement in which he said Mr Murray came to the house and threatened Mr Henry, before turning his attention to Francesca and him. He said Mr Murray began to hit him in the face and he fell to the floor. Kenyon said that Mr Murray was on top of him so he pulled a knife out to ‘frighten him’ but the victim continued to hit him. The next thing he knew the knife was in his chest.

Kenyon told the court what he had outlined in his signed statement and said he had been ‘coming off a lot of drugs’ and ‘just agreed with whatever his solicitor had said’. He also said that he had taken the knife out as soon as he had left the house in a bid to frighten Mr Murray, but the victim had responded with a cluster of punches to the side of his head. Kenyon said he never aimed the knife at Mr Murray but ‘just swung it’ and had never meant to stab him. He also said that he didn’t realise he had stabbed Mr Murray at first and the victim had attempted to punch him again.

But neighbour Christine Redding said she had seen Kenyon pointing a weapon at Mr Murray’s chest but did not see the fatal blow.

Ms Haworth told the court that she never saw Kenyon carrying a knife at any point but did concede she had earlier lied to police to ‘protect her boyfriend’.

The court heard that Kenyon, who said in court that he had been smoking crack and drinking heavily in the weeks building up to the fatal incident, did have injuries to his face. But they related to an incident at the Texaco Garage in Bridgemill Road, Blackburn, on September 30 when Kenyon had stabbed Mr Barton.

The court heard that Kenyon and Barton had been friends but their relationship had deteriorated and the defendant had threatened to stab his victim.

And when the two men came across each other at the petrol station Mr Barton asked him “where’s your knives now?”, before punching him to the face twice. Kenyon then pulled a machete from inside his coat and stabbed Mr Barton straight through his upper left arm. Although he did require treatment he suffered no long-lasting injuries.

Judge Brown will decide on whether he accepts the basis of plea before passing sentence.