Lancaster murder trial: Accused made 'stab threats' towards another man 11 days before Lee Farrington suffered a fatal knife wound

Leandro Licursi, 30, said he had witnessed the fracas between defendant Connor Reece, 24, and another man, Ciaran Currie, 11 days before Lancaster dad Lee Farrington was fatally stabbed in the thigh.

Mr Farrington had also been present during the earlier incident, Preston Crown Court heard.

Giving evidence, Mr Licursi said he had seen part of the disturbance from a bus stop and had tried to split up the fight as it spilled out into the street from the Westfield Memorial Village.

He said he heard Reece making threats towards Currie and added: "He said: 'I'm gonna stab him up' or 'shank him' - it was one of the two."

He told jurors he also heard Reece shouting "get me a knife" to his partner Danielle McCreery, who was also present.

The court was played CCTV which captured part of the incident.

The court previously heard the incident, on August 16, led to Reece, Danielle McCreery, and Currie being evicted from their homes at nearby Oak Tree House.

On August 27, Mr Farrington, suffered a fatal stab wound to his thigh. He suffered a cardiac arrest a short time after the attack, and died the next morning during emergency surgery to try to repair his severed femoral artery.

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

The prosecution allege Reece, 24, of no fixed address, murdered him, and that he was 'upset' Mr Farrington was "on Ciaran Currie's side."

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.

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