Murder accused Daniel Smith has admitted killing his “best mate” but claimed he was acting in self-defence when he stabbed the man he described as “like a brother” in the chest.
Prosecutors claim the 21-year-old murdered Jonathan Carr at his flat in Gateshead during an evening socialising together.
Giving evidence to jurors at Newcastle Crown Court for the first time, Smith said trouble flared after he accidentally smashed a glass bong belonging to Jonathan.
He claimed Jonathan, also 21, attacked him and he picked up the knife and pushed out with it, fearing for his life.
Asked by his barrister, Jason Pitter QC, if he accepted stabbing and killing Jonathan, he replied: “Yes”.
Mr Pitter asked why he did it and Smith replied: “I was defending myself”.
Smith said alcohol and drugs had affected his memory but that “bits and pieces have been coming back”.
Asked about his relationship with Jonathan, who he knew as Ali, he said: “It was good, he was like a brother. We were like best mates.”
Smith said on July 31, he and his cousin, Steven Morrison, had decided to go to Jonathan’s flat in Deckham, Gateshead.
They drank tequila, rum, Brown Ale and Stella Artois and also smoked cannabis and took some codeine tablets. Smith said at one point they went to meet someone to buy cocaine and then went to a fish and chip shop, where he admitted his behaviour was “disgraceful”.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/jonathan-carr-murder-daniel-smith-15564758
In December 2018, Smith was found guilty of murdering Jonathan Carr, and sentenced to life in prison.
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