Adam Ward jailed for GCSE party buttock-stab killing

Lee Marshall's fiancée said he was "well-liked, much-loved and respected"

A teenager who killed a father-of-two by stabbing him in the buttock at a GCSE celebration party has been jailed.

Adam Ward, 18, hit a major artery when he stabbed gatecrasher Lee Marshall, 38, in Bulwell, Nottingham.

Ward, an aspiring soldier, had been asked to protect a house where a large group of teenagers had gathered, the city's crown court heard.

He was given an eight-year sentence for manslaughter after being cleared by jurors of murder.

Four other teenagers, three of whom cannot be named, were also cleared of murder.

'Don't want to die'

The fourth, Calvin Turner, 18, was hosting the party at his home on 29 June last year.

During the bash, a "troublemaker" turned up and was refused entry, the court heard.

The gatecrasher later returned with reinforcements including Mr Marshall.

Ward confronted them, and was handed a knife, which he used to inflict a 20cm (7.9in) deep fatal wound in the victim's left buttock.

As he bled to death, witnesses said Mr Marshall called out for his fiancée Kim Gunn, and said "I don't want to die", the court heard.

Adam Ward had not been in trouble with the law before, the court heard

Ward, of Watford Road, Aspley, fled the scene, hid the knife and called his cousin's husband, Aaron Aziz, 29, to drive him home.

'I will never forget'

He then burnt and buried his clothes but was arrested 36 hours later, the court was told.

Sentencing Ward, Mr Justice Spencer said the defendant had shown a "callous attitude" about his crime.

"When asked to describe how it felt to stab him, you said it was like putting butter on your toast," he said.

However, the judge accepted that Ward had not intended to cause serious injury.

A statement from Mr Marshall's fiancée was read out in court.

Ms Gunn said: "I attended the mortuary... to formally identify him. I recall the expression on his face; it was as though he wanted to burst into tears. I will never forget."

Ward's defence lawyer, Amjad Malik QC, said no-one would have expected to kill someone by stabbing them in the buttock and this was a "freak" case.

Aziz, of Melbourne Road, was found guilty of assisting an offender and was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and 200 hours of community service.