Man stopped attack when he saw blood, court told

Yahoo

5 days ago

A man accused of trying to kill a fellow care home resident has told a jury he stopped when he "could see a pool of blood on the floor".
At Bradford Crown Court, Graham Dowling is accused of the attempted murder of Kevin Ryan, 61, at Burger Court residential care home in the city last December.
He has denied intending to kill the victim, but previously admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Giving evidence on Thursday, Mr Dowling, 36, of Barkerend Road, said he was acting in self-defence as a fight escalated when he discovered his girlfriend, another resident, had kissed Mr Ryan.
Mr Dowling said he stopped punching and kicking when "I realised I could see a pool of blood".
He said: "It was self-defence as he flipped my glasses off. I was upset, but not angry.
"I had gone to his room and Kev was on his bed. I stamped on his face five times but wasn't trying to kill him.
"He was lying on the floor facing the ceiling and I kicked him while he was on the floor and punched him in the face, then I left his room and put my shoes in a bucket of water as they had blood on them."
He was asked by the prosecution whether he realised part of the victim's ear had been ripped off, but the defendant said "his ear got cut".
He was also asked whether he intended to kill the victim, whom he had known for about a year, and he replied: "No."
The court heard Mr Ryan was not able to give evidence during the trial as he was not in a fit state.
Prosecutor Gerald Hendron told the jury they were there to work out if Mr Dowling had intended to kill his victim during the fight.
He said: "It was a substantial attack as he had a fracture across his face after getting five blows to his head.
"The only injuries Mr Dowling got was a scratch to his hand, he didn't have any injuries, and even asked, 'are you dead yet?'"
Mr Hendron said that the fact he stamped on Mr Ryan's head showed he had intent to kill.
But he added that the stamping on his body was not evidence there had been an attempt to kill.
Josh Normanton, defending Mr Dowling, argued he had admitted what he did and called for medical attention, adding there was no evidence he had prepared to kill the victim.
He told the jury: "A serious assault occurred, of that there can be no doubt, and Mr Dowling was sadly the cause of those injuries.
"But did he have intent to kill or to cause serious harm?
"If he wanted to kill him, why when he was crawling on the floor, didn't he finish him off or call immediate medical attention?"
The trial continues.
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Man suffered 'five blows' in care home attack
HM Courts & Tribunals Service