Skegness murder accused Richard Norris stabbed victim as he slept, court told

Marcus Tott, 47, was found fatally injured at a property in Grosvenor Road, Skegness, on 2 December

A man accused of murder stabbed his sleeping victim to death with a kitchen knife, a court has heard.

Marcus Tott, 47, was discovered dead at a property in Grosvenor Road, Skegness, on 2 December 2022.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Richard Lee Norris, 53, who denies murder, disposed of the knife in a nearby drain after the attack.

Prosecutors allege Mr Norris also confessed to the stabbing in a phone call to his mother.

Jeremy Janes, prosecuting, told the court Mr Tott had been stabbed him in the chest as he slept.

After the knife was recovered, fatty deposits on the weapon matched Mr Tott's DNA, he added.

During a police interview, Mr Norris denied being the person responsible, giving the name of a woman, and said he he had not been at the flat that night.

'Black eyes'

However, Mr Janes told the court Mr Norris had now changed his defence and admitted visiting the flat, where there was a struggle involving a knife.

The jury heard Mr Norris now accepted putting the knife in the drain after he left.

The court was told of Mr Tott's relationship with a local woman, who was a friend of Mr Norris, which ended around a week before the stabbing.

Mr Janes said the couple were in the habit of sometimes drinking too much and consuming drugs, with either violence or threats of violence coming from Mr Tott.

Mr Norris had allegedly told his mother when he confessed to the stabbing "he [Mr Tott] was abusing that woman" and "I've seen her with black eyes".

The woman had enough and left, Mr Janes told the jury.

The trial continues.