A father told a 999 operator that his son was a "f****** crazy b******" after the 37-year-old allegedly kissed him on the head before plunging a knife into his chest, a court has heard. Andrew Roberts had been watching a film with his dad, David Roberts, when he suddenly got up from the sofa and stabbed him, leaving blood "spurting out of his chest," jurors were told at Liverpool Crown Court.
Moments earlier, Roberts is said to have leaned in, kissed his father and chillingly warned: "This is the last time you ever get a kiss off me," the Echo reports. Roberts is now standing trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of attempted murder. Jurors were told that Roberts had been staying with his father at his one-bedroom flat on Big Meadow Road in Woodchurch, Wirral, at the time of the incident on December 16 last year.
A panel of four men and eight women heard that he had been drinking heavily the previous evening but apologised the next morning before the pair later sat down to watch a film together. "When the defendant got up from a couch, his father thought that he was going to the toilet. In fact, the defendant walked behind his father and started to punch him to the back of his head and both sides of his face," described Gerry Baxter, prosecuting. "Then, David Roberts felt blood running down his chest. He realised that something more serious had happened. He put his hands up to defend himself. He looked down and saw blood, and realised that, in fact, he had been stabbed."
The defendant ran out of the flat. The father, David Roberts, locked the door to stop the defendant coming back in and went to the bathroom and found that he had a wound to the front of his chest which was bleeding profusely. He also had wounds to his hands, which he realised had been inflicted when he was trying to defend himself. Mr Roberts called 999 and was taken via ambulance to Aintree Hospital, the court heard, where doctors found he suffered a 4cm stab wound to the right hand side of his chest as well as a laceration to his left hand.
The blade of the knife allegedly used in the attack was "smeared" with his blood, jurors were told, and was recovered without its handle in the lounge. Mr Baxter said: "He says that the defendant did not go to the kitchen to get the knife, and it was, therefore, already on him when he stood up and attacked Mr Roberts. David Roberts later remembered that, at some point before the attack, the defendant had paid a visit to the toilet. When he came back into the room, he stopped next to his father. The defendant leant over to him, kissed him on the head and said words to the effect of 'this is the last time you ever get a kiss off me'."
Roberts, of Woodward Road in Rock Ferry, was found by officers drinking a can of lager, attempting to flee police with a case of beer when he spotted them. He was later tracked down in an alleyway near a row of shops on Arrowe Park Road and arrested. He had a "small cut" to the back of his neck and dried blood on his hand, reports the Liverpool Echo. Roberts later gave a prepared statement under interview, in which he alleged that his father had been drunk and was "carrying on, calling his wife a slag and a jumped up, mouthy b****" prior to the incident.
Roberts told officers the 56-year-old was "lunging towards him" and punching him to the side of the head during a "scuffle." Messages recovered from his phone were read to jurors, documenting that he had told his wife the night before "I wanna come home or kill him" and "I'm gonna kill Dave." "I want to get nicked. Got a meat cleaver, so I'm safe," he went on to add at around 11:30pm. More texts from the next morning revealed his partner had told him "after the carry on, I'm done" and "you've drank again and became aggressive." He later replied at 11.20am "if you don't hear from me, I've killed him" before saying at 12.12pm: "I'm going to kill this Dave."
An audio recording of the 999 call was played in court, in which Mr Roberts told the call handler: "My son just got up and stabbed me in the neck. I'm bleeding everywhere. I'm gonna pass out. He's bolted out the door. He's stabbed me in the bloody chest as well." He went on to report that blood was "spurting out of his chest" and added: "F****** blood's going everywhere. F****** crazy b******. Can you send the police as well? This is an emergency. He was staying at mine for a bit. I was helping him out. He was homeless. And this is what he does. There's blood p***ing out of me mate. I dunno where else he's stabbed me."
Roberts, who is being represented by Brendan Carville, denies attempted murder and wounding with intent.
