Llanelli: Man 'taunted murder victim' as he lay bleeding

Police were called to Maestir, Llanelli, in the early hours of Sunday

A man died after being stabbed in the neck outside his home in Llanelli, a court heard.

James Alan Smith, 36, denies murdering Ashley Sarsero, 26, in the Maestir area of Felinfoel last September.

The court was told how Mr Smith taunted Mr Sarsero as he lay bleeding.

Mr Smith appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Monday alongside his co-defendant, Stephen George Morgan, also 36, who denied assisting an offender.

The trial is expected to last between three and four weeks.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Michael Jones KC said Mr Smith had stabbed Mr Sarsero "deliberately and without any justification".

The jury heard how Mr Smith had argued with Mr Sarsero at Mr Sarsero's home in the early hours of Sunday, 10 September, before the three men went outside.

It was then that Mr Smith produced a knife and stabbed Mr Sarsero in the neck before fleeing the scene, Mr Jones said.

The prosecution said while the murder weapon had never been found, Mr Smith had purchased a knife the previous day that fitted the description given to police.

Mr Jones told the court the depth of Mr Sarsero's wound showed he had been stabbed with "the full length of the blade, up to the hilt".

The court heard how the other defendant, Mr Morgan, had told Mr Smith to "run, now" before calling an ambulance.

Mr Jones said that Mr Morgan was arrested at the scene, and that Mr Smith turned himself in to police the following day.

Jurors were told how the two defendants had been invited in to Mr Sarsero's home by his mother, Claire Richards.

According to the prosecution, Ms Richards had met both men earlier that evening outside a local garage, and had allowed them to walk her home. She said the two men had been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis.

Mr Sarsero, who lived with his mother, returned home a short time later. Despite initially shaking hands with the two men, Mr Jones said, a fight broke out between Mr Sarsero and Mr Smith a short time later.

In a tribute paid to Mr Sarsero shortly after his death, his family described him as a "beautiful, precious boy who would light up a room".

Both men deny the charges and the trial continues.