Lancaster dad Lee Farrington 'bled to death' from catastrophic stab wound to thigh, murder jury told

Lee Farrington, 29, suffered a cardiac arrest a short time after the attack, on August 27, and died the next morning during emergency surgery to try to repair his severed femoral artery.

A post mortem examination deemed the wound had been caused by a "deliberate thrusting motion" that had caused catastrophic blood loss.

His former friend, Connor Reece, 24, of no fixed address, denies his murder.

Reece's girlfriend Danielle McCreery, 27, of no fixed address, and her father, Wayne McCreery, 46, from St Andrews Road, Stretford, Manchester, deny perverting the course of justice relating to allegations they assisted Reece to evade lawful arrest.

Prosecuting, Louise Blackwell QC told the jury at Preston Crown Court there had been a previous violent confrontation between Connor Reece and a neighbour, Ciaran Currie, 11 days earlier, which had led to Reece, his girlfriend McCreery and Currie being evicted from a multi occupancy property called Oak Tree House.

Mr Farrington and his friend Kadijah Omar also lived at the property.

Ms Blackwell said: " Lee Farrington and Connor Reece already knew each other and they had been good friends until something happened in the middle of August resulted to Ciaran Currie. At that incident the deceased was on Ciaran Currie's side and that, the prosecution say, is what upset Connor Reece."

She said Lee Farrington had tried to act as a "peacemaker" during the incident but it became physical and Reece was seen by a resident picking up a rock and had a knife in his pocket.

Reece was heard to say he would 'stab' Ciaran Currie and after police were called they were evicted.

In a second incident, Lee Farrington went to McColl's with Kadijah Omar and Ciaran Currie, and were followed by Reece and two other men, who Reece encouraged to attack Ciaran Currie.

One attacked Currie with a hammer.

Ms Blackwell said: "During the incident Reece was heard making threats to stab Ciaran Currie and was talking about "getting them" - them being Ciaran Currie and Lee Farrington."

The court heard on August 27, Mr Farrington, Miss Omar, and another man, Andrew Perry, went to an address on Tarnsyke Road to buy some cannabis, and almost as soon as they arrived Connor Reece, who had two young men with him, walked over to them and asked where Ciaran was.

Mr Farrington, who replied he didn't know, was "cornered" in the communal area.

It is alleged Reece took a knife from his sock and suddenly stabbed him.

The three then fled.

Miss Blackwell added: "Inside the flats there was blood everywhere, so much so that Ms Omar says she could smell blood.

"She took off her jumper to try and stem the blood.

"The deceased kept repeating that he thought he was going to die and didn't want to do so."

At 22.46pm she rang 999.

There was considerable commotion as others tried to help.

One of paramedics witnessed Mr Farrington tell a police officer Reece had stabbed him.

Reece'e defence lawyer says the defendant accepts he is responsible for the death, but that he had effectively acted in self defence as he (wrongly) believed another man had been stabbed and had seen a knife drop to the floor.

(proceeding)