Simon Birch killing: Adam Jenkins' family friend says he was a peacemaker

Simon Birch was in a relationship with the accused killer's sister for two-and-a-half years

A man accused of murdering a guest at a Christmas Day party always acted as a peacemaker, a court has heard.

Simon Birch, 39, was fatally wounded in the neck at the home of Adam Jenkins in Newbottle, Sunderland, at about 23:20 GMT on 25 December 2021.

At Newcastle Crown Court, Mr Jenkins, 36, has denied murder and manslaughter.

A number of family friends and associates in the construction trade said Mr Jenkins was a "kind" man who defused confrontations.

The court has heard that Mr Birch had been in a relationship with Mr Jenkins' sister Emma for two-and-a-half years and that there had been multiple incidents of domestic abuse and violence.

At the end of Christmas Day, Mr Jenkins attacked Mr Birch in the driveway after believing the victim had killed Ms Jenkins in a domestic violence attack.

Mr Jenkins' lawyers presented character statements from eight people who knew or had worked with the defendant, who trained as a bricklayer before starting a successful agency placing builders on construction sites across the North East.

The court heard he supported multiple charities, including a soup kitchen where he would serve Christmas lunches and a special needs school to which he donated festive chocolate boxes for every pupil each year.

Gordon O'Brien, who runs a demolition firm, said he had known Mr Jenkins for the whole of the defendant's life.

He said Mr Jenkins was "never in trouble" and was "seen as a peacemaker in heated situations" where he would use his "personality" to calm matters.

'Amazing man'

"He is not one for confrontation," Mr O'Brien said, adding the actions of Mr Jenkins on Christmas Day "could not be further from his day-to-day character".

He said: "The charge of murder is not befitting of a person of Adam's nature."

Several other witnesses also said he was "laid back" and always had an "easy-going" attitude.

Construction worker John Wardropper said no matter how stressful situations got on site, he had "never seen [Mr Jenkins] become aggressive or confrontational", adding: "Adam always had a knack of calming the situation down before it escalated".

Andrea Bell, founder of Sunderland community soup kitchen, said Mr Jenkins was an "amazing man" with a "big heart" who had helped the charity on multiple occasions, adding he was "kinder than kind" and "goes way above the expectations".

The trial continues.