A teenager accused of murder told a court he fatally stabbed another teenager with a kitchen knife because he feared he was going to be stabbed, a trial has heard. Georgie Mears, 19, denies the murder of Tristan Kerr, 17, who was fatally attacked at a house in Abertridwr, Caerphilly.
When asked if he intended to kill the 17-year-old, Mears responded: "No way."
Fatal attack in Abertridwr
Tristan Kerr had been playing Fortnite with friends when he was fatally attacked at a house in the old mining village of Abertridwr, Caerphilly, on Thursday, February 5. Tristan managed to run out of the house with his friend Conah Davies, but told him: "I'm hurting, my side."
He said to his friend: "I love you bro, You're a goodun you are."
Ricardo Elliot, 26, whose address was given as HMP Parc, Elexi Manny, 24, of no fixed abode, Georgie Mears, 19, of Cavendish Close, Thornhill, Cardiff, and Connor Palfrey, 24, of Aberfawr Terrace, Abertridwr, all pleaded not guilty to murder.
Prosecution's account
As the trial got underway, prosecutor Michael Jones KC told the jury the defendants were driven to the address by Manny and "within moments" all four were walking inside the house before Tristan was fatally stabbed to his chest in the living room by Mears.
The court heard Mears was armed with a Rambo or hunting-style knife and that Palfrey had a wooden stick. Mr Jones said: "The fatal incident took less than two minutes, just moments from them arriving and walking into the house together to them leaving and driving away together. As to Tristan, such was the catastrophic nature of the injuries inflicted on him he died at the scene."
Defendant's evidence
Giving evidence on Tuesday, Mears said he was a drug dealer operating in and around Caerphilly and became aware of Mr Kerr after supplying him with ketamine on "four or five occasions".
The defendant said: "I heard certain things about him... I see a video of him chasing Connor Palfrey with a dog and a knife… He had posted it on his public story. I've heard him being violent, I heard he carries knives and other things as well… I knew he was selling drugs, cocaine, ketamine, balloons, dust. I just knew he was a violent person."
On February 5, Mears said he, Palfrey, and Elliot were driven by Manny to Cardiff Magistrates' Court to attend a hearing for their friend Kai Raven. Later that day, the defendant said he was asked by Manny, on behalf of Mr Raven, to pick up a knife which had been stashed inside a sofa at an address in Lower Francis Street, Abertridwr. He said he later attended the address and retrieved a black-handled kitchen knife which he placed in his waistband.
After attending Palfrey's home and the Piccadilly Inn in Caerphilly, the four defendants went to the home of Ieuan Crane, aka Eddie, in Lower Francis Street, where Tristan Kerr, Conah Davies aka Custard, and Odhran Gulliford were. Mears said they attended the address as a request had been made for drugs.
Claim of self-defence
Upon entering the property with Palfrey, Mears described a "weird atmosphere" and described Mr Kerr walking towards him. The defendant said: "I thought I was about to be attacked and robbed... (It was) Meaningful, the way he was walking. It's not how you approach someone if you're going to speak to them, he was approaching me as if he was going to genuinely attack me."
Defence barrister Christopher Rees KC asked Mears what was going through his mind. The defendant said: "A lot, I was terrified. I took a step back and before I could process what was going on he swung a punch at me… It just missed my face, I pulled my head back and skimmed my mouth. He was still like walking towards me, I tried nudging him like 'Yo what are you doing' and he swung a punch with his other hand."
"That did the same thing, it skimmed my face, and I tried to push him by his shoulders but I slipped over the top of him. That's when he tried rugby tackling me. My back pushed the living room door shut. Tristan is around my waist. His right hand was next to the knife. I could feel him getting closer and closer to the knife, I was feeling frightened. I could see Custard coming closer and I felt fear. The only way out was past all of them."
Mr Rees asked: "What did you fear?" Mears said: "He's going to take my knife and stab me with it. I took the knife out of waistband and out of fear stabbed him."
Mr Rees asked: "Why did you think it was necessary to stab him?" Mears said: "I feared for my safety, I thought if I don't stab him he's going to stab me. I pulled the knife out with my right hand and stabbed him to his left hand side."
Mr Rees asked: "How much force did you use?" Mears said: "I was panicked and scared, I don't really know."
The defendant said it was his intention to get out of the room, and Mr Kerr was still fighting him as he attempted to leave. He told the jury he eventually ran out the back of the house and entered the Polo driven by Manny, with Palfrey also getting into the car.
Mr Rees asked: "What were you thinking?" Mears said: "All sorts, absolutely all sorts. Trying to process what I had done and what happened. I knew it wasn't good, I had a sick feeling in my belly, I knew something was wrong."
"I said quietly to myself 'F*** sake I've stabbed him, I've stabbed him. I need to go somewhere, where can I go?'. I said 'Yo has anyone got a place for us to go?' Connor said he knew someone up in Hereford and he needed to go see her anyway."
Mr Rees asked: "Why were you going up to Hereford?" Mears said: "I just knew I had done something really stupid and I didn't want to get caught."
When asked if there was any plan to stab Mr Kerr, Mears said: "Never, never." When asked if there was a plan to kill or seriously injure Mr Kerr, the defendant said: "No way." Mears added: "I was fearing for my safety, I honestly thought he was going to stab me."
Mr Rees asked: "How do you feel about that?" Mears said: "Terribly sorry, I didn't mean to kill him at all."
The trial continues.
