Three found guilty of killing man in stabbing

Lee Clarkson was killed outside his home in November

Three people, including a 17-year-old boy, have been found guilty of killing a man in a stabbing.

Lee Clarkson, 41, was killed outside his home in West Lane in Bishop Auckland on 29 November.

Michael Richardson, 52, and the youth, who cannot be identified, were found guilty of murder by jurors at Teesside Crown Court.

Karl Jones, 45, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter, while Craig Dent, 42, was found not guilty of murder but had already admitted manslaughter. Co-accused Helen Jones, 43, was cleared of both charges.

In a statement, Mr Clarkson's family said: "This has been unbearable at times we are broken hearted, and no words can explain the pain and torture that we have gone through."

Durham Police said the men had not intended to attack Mr Clarkson that evening and instead were after his lodger who Richardson believed was responsible for two alleged burglaries of his house and shed.

Armed with a knife, a baseball bat and a machete the three men smashed the windows and back door of Mr Clarkson's house.

On hearing this, Mr Clarkson ran upstairs to warn his lodger who subsequently jumped out the window and ran off, the police said.

The men dragged Mr Clarkson to the front garden where he was stabbed, kicked and punched.

They then fled in a red Land Rover and left their victim dying.

Det Supt Andy Reynolds said: "This was a brutal attack on an innocent man in his own home.

"My thoughts go out to Mr Clarkson’s family."

Richardson of Boddy Court, Jones of General Boucher Court, and Dent of Gray Street, all in Bishop Auckland, and the teen are due to be sentenced in October.