Simon Birch killing: Adam Jenkins trial told victim was terrorising family

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

A man killed at the end of a Christmas Day party was "terrorising" the accused murderer's family, 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.

Prosecutors said Mr Jenkins was in a "murderous rage" but defence lawyers said he was protecting his family against an attack from Mr Birch.

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 their Christmas Day celebrations, Mr Jenkins stabbed Mr Birch in the driveway after believing the victim had killed Ms Jenkins in a violent attack.

Mr Jenkins said he could not remember picking up knives from the kitchen or the moment he slashed Mr Birch's neck, with a psychiatrist telling jurors that could be for medical reasons.

In his closing statement to jurors, prosecutor Francis FitzGibbon KC said the defendant's memory loss was a "lie" because he would "not face up to the truth of what he has done because he knows that he is guilty".

He said the whole incident lasted just over a minute and began with Mr Birch attacking Ms Jenkins and Mr Jenkins intervening.

He said it was a "very simple case" where a fight broke out between "two drunk, angry men" after Mr Birch had "yet again turned on" Ms Jenkins.

Mr FitzGibbon said after the initial brawl in the living room, Mr Birch had "calmed down in the night air" but Mr Jenkins "did not".

'Figment of his imagination'

Mr Jenkins armed himself because he "knew he couldn't beat the other man with his fists," Mr FitzGibbon said, adding: "He worked himself up into a murderous rage fuelled by drink."

He said CCTV showed Mr Jenkins approaching Mr Birch and attacking him but the defendant told jurors Mr Birch punched him first in the driveway.

Mr FitzGibbon said Mr Jenkins wanted jurors to "disbelieve what you can see with your own eyes" on the footage, adding: "He is gaslighting you."

The prosecutor said Mr Birch "had no chance to defend himself" and the punch Mr Jenkins described was a "figment of his imagination".

Simon Birch was slashed in the neck with a black kitchen knife

Jeremy Dein KC, representing Mr Jenkins, said Mr Birch was a "nasty piece of work" who had carried out a "reign of terror" involving multiple "merciless attacks" against Ms Jenkins for several months.

He read segments of messages Ms Jenkins had sent her brother about Mr Birch including fears he would kill her, that he had "mentally tortured" her, strangled her, banged her head off walls and she was scared of him.

Mr Dein said despite all that, the family still welcomed Mr Birch to their Christmas Day gathering as he was Ms Jenkins' partner and it was claimed his drug use and violence had stopped.

Mr Dein said Mr Birch had an "infinite capacity for violence" including multiple convictions and domestic abuse attacks and his "unpredictable behaviour" would have been in Mr Jenkins' mind when the victim was "terrorising" his family at the end of Christmas Day.

'Horror movie'

He said Mr Jenkins was a "hardworking bricklayer" and "dedicated family man" who had woken up that day anticipating a "fantastic" Christmas Day in the home he had worked for.

Mr Dein said the idea he would be charged with the murder the following day would have been "off the scale unthinkable" and would have got the "biggest laugh at the Christmas table".

He said it was not disputed that Mr Jenkins caused Mr Birch's death but it was an accident, adding: "He's not the type of person to have done it deliberately."

Mr Dein said even if jurors decided Mr Jenkins had stabbed Mr Birch on purpose, there was an "abundance of evidence that [Mr Jenkins] acted in self defence" and was "scared" for his family.

He said Mr Birch's attack on Ms Jenkins, which left her face and hair covered in blood, was like a "horror movie" and Mr Jenkins was "increasingly petrified" of what was happening.

"This was not a fight, it was an attack and Adam Jenkins was one of a number of innocent victims," Mr Dein said.

Mr Dein said Mr Jenkins' inability to remember key events had a medical explanation and was a recognised response to trauma.

The trial continues.