Bodmin murder trial: Death an appalling accident - defence lawyer

Defence barrister Andrew Langdon KC said Jake Hill did not realise "he was not under threat" when Mr Riddiough-Allen apprehended him

The death of a rugby player in Cornwall last year was "an appalling accident", a defence lawyer has said.

Michael Riddiough-Allen died at the scene after he was stabbed outside the Eclipse club in Bodmin, Cornwall, on 30 April 2023.

Defence barrister Andrew Langdon KC said accused Jake Hill, 25 did not realise "he was not under threat" when Mr Riddiough-Allen apprehended him.

Mr Hill, and Chelsea Powell, 22, from Bodmin, both deny charges of murder.

Chris Henley KC, the lawyer representing Ms Powell, said his client had been charged with murder after "a rare night out, which turned into a complete nightmare".

'Misguided, inadequate man'

Alongside murder, Mr Hill is also accused of stabbing five other people in what the jury was told was a violent brawl outside the nightclub.

Mr Langdon said Mr Riddiough-Allen was "a brave man, a kind man, who took the decision to intervene unarmed".

"He took on a man with a knife and he paid with his life for it," he said.

Mr Langdon asked jurors to put themselves in the mind of Mr Hill at the moment that Mr Riddiough-Allen took hold of him.

He said: "Is Jake Hill meant to be able to turn that over in his mind and say, 'Ah, I see this man who has grabbed me from behind is a peacemaker, I can relax', is that real?"

Addressing the question of why Mr Hill got the knife out, Mr Langdon said he had "unthinkingly reacted instinctively in the heat of the moment".

He said: "One theory the prosecution don't want you to countenance is that Jake Hill got his knife out because he was set upon by others.

"If he was on the ground, is it inconceivable that he reached for the knife in a frantic effort to get them to stop?"

Mr Langdon said no-one had good reason to buy a knife like that, but he said this was not as the prosecution allege "a clear cut case of murder".

He said his client Mr Hill was "a misguided, inadequate young man" who when he was foolishly involved in violence made "the catastrophic decision to take out his knife".

"The result is the unintended death of an intervener," he said.

'A complete nightmare'

Mr Henley began his closing speech by reminding the jury of a comment Ms Powell said she made when Mr Hill told her he had stabbed people.

"Her first thought was, 'I've got children, you've got a child, why would you do something like that'," he said.

Mr Henley said the evidence supported Ms Powell's claim that she did not know Mr Hill had a knife.

He said: "If she knew he had a knife, she wouldn't have been there - she wouldn't have had anything to do with it."

Mr Henley said it was "completely unrealistic and unreasonable" for the prosecution to suggest Ms Powell knew that some people had been stabbed before the incident involving Mr Riddiough-Allen and Mr Hill, which she is accused of joining.

"All she was trying to do was get Mike Allen off Jake Hill," he said.

Mr Henley also pointed to uncertainty about the timing of the fatal wound inflicted on Mr Riddiough-Allen.

He said for Ms Powell to be found guilty of murder or manslaughter, the jury would have to be satisfied that she went to assist Mr Hill either at the time of or before the fatal wound occurred.

The trial continues on Thursday when the judge will begin her summary of the evidence.