Bedford stab killer 'wanted to frighten' victim, trial hears

Federico Saurini was found guilty of murder at Luton Crown Court

A man who fatally stabbed a 26-year-old involved in a confrontation with his former partner has been convicted of murder.

Kameron Campbell died after he was attacked in the garden of the ground floor flat in Palgrave Road, Bedford on 20 August.

Federico Saurini, 51, denied murder but was found guilty after a trial at Luton Crown Court.

He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 14 April.

The court heard Kameron Campbell was involved in a row with Saurini's ex-partner

The court heard Mr Campbell died at Bedford Hospital just before 19:00 BST - about 20 to 30 minutes after he was stabbed.

Prosecutor Julian Evans KC told the court that Mr Campbell had been involved in a row with a woman in the kitchen of the house while Saurini watched TV in another room.

He allegedly pulled a knife from his waistband, pointed it at the woman and threatened to stab her.

The pair moved to the garden where Mr Campbell allegedly stood over the woman while she tried to fight him off, the court heard.

Mr Evans said Saurini then pulled a hunting knife from a drawer, unsheathed it and thrust it at Mr Campbell, who staggered away.

'Truly tragic incident'

The defendant, who did not give evidence, had told police: "I wanted to frighten him. I was frightened myself.

"You can't come in my house armed with a knife - threatening to kill the mother of my child."

The court heard Saurini also said: "I think I have stabbed him."

In a police interview, he said he had taken some crack cocaine with his former partner that day.

He said she regularly took heroin and crack, the court was told.

Floral tributes were left in Palgrave Road where Kameron Campbell was fatally stabbed in August

A post-mortem examination found the victim died from a stab wound to the chest. It entered the front and emerged from the back.

"The degree of force was towards the severe end of the scale," said the prosecutor.

Det Insp Richard Stott, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: "This was a truly tragic incident in which a young man senselessly lost his life.

"Choosing to carry and use knives can have extreme and devastating consequences."