Man 'stabbed his own mother to death by accident' during fight outside pub

A man accidentally stabbed his own mother to death during a fight outside a pub, a court has heard.

Jamie Dempsey, 32, is accused of murdering his mother, Karen Dempsey, 55, outside the Brambles pub in Kirkby, Liverpool, on 22 August last year.

After stabbing her by accident in the heart, Dempsey hugged her before leaving her to bleed to death, Liverpool Crown Court heard. Dempsey denies murder.

The court heard Dempsey knifed his mother while trading blows with Brian Flynn, who he owed a drug debt of thousands of pounds.

Dempsey, from Brechin Road, Kirkby, was "glassed" inside the pub by Flynn, who was then also stabbed, the court heard.

Dempsey claimed to have been acting in self-defence and told police: "I was scared for my life, what do you want me to do?"

Peter Glenser KC, prosecuting, said Dempsey and his mother met at the pub for a drink on 22 August.

The court heard Dempsey had "run up an unpaid drug debt of some £2,000" with Flynn, who was also at the pub that evening.

Shortly after 8pm, Flynn returned from the toilets and hurled a glass at Dempsey, hitting him on the back of the head, the court was told.

Flynn then "followed up this assault with punches" thrown at Dempsey. After Ms Dempsey and others restrained him, Flynn picked up a second glass and threw it at Dempsey, who left by a back door.

The confrontation between the two men continued outside the pub, with Dempsey now clutching a knife in his right hand.

He stabbed Flynn at least twice before a man, referred to in court only as "Male A", and Ms Dempsey attempted to intervene.

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The knife "made contact" with her chest, leaving her with blood pouring down her dress. The fighting then stopped and Dempsey hugged her before leaving the area, the court heard.

However, she collapsed moments later, the knife having pierced her heart and liver. Ms Dempsey, a grandmother, was rushed to Aintree University Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 9.45pm.

Flynn, who was "heavily bloodstained", was stopped by police near the scene and arrested.

He was taken to hospital with a stab wound to the left armpit.

The court heard that Dempsey went to his aunt's house and told her there had "been a fight and he had stabbed his mother".

He took off his clothes and asked his cousin to burn them, although the relative did not do so.

Dempsey then went to an off-licence and bought cans of beer, before he was later dropped at Kirkby police station by a friend.

As the police station was closed, Dempsey phoned Merseyside Police "to tell them where he was and that he was wanted", not yet knowing his mother had died.

In a recording played to the court, Dempsey was heard to say: "I’ve been accused of stabbing someone tonight but I haven’t. It was in self-defence. There’s been an altercation. I’ve defended myself."

He also told the operator: "I was scared for my life. What do you want me to do?"

Officers arrived at the scene and arrested Dempsey, who, after learning of his mother's death, told police he had found a knife by the back door of the pub after the initial altercation, the court heard.

The trial continues.