Man, 25, stabbed to death as he slept next to girlfriend after ‘her jealous ex burst into bedroom with hunting knife’
A MAN was stabbed to death as he slept next to his girlfriend when her jealous ex burst into their bedroom with a hunting knife, a court has heard.
Kaydon Prior, 23, is accused of pinning lifeguard Harrison Tomkins to the bed and knifing him ten times in a brutal late-night attack.
Mr Tomkins, 25, had been asleep next to Alicia Parrin, 20, who screamed when she was woken up by the stabbing.
Prior allegedly launched the attack after he and his friend Jason Curtis burst into Miss Parrin's flat in Crawley, West Sussex at 5.30am on August 13 last year.
Alan Gardner KC, for the Crown, said: "Kaydon Prior armed himself with a hunting knife.
"Assisted by his close friend Jason Curtis, he burst into Miss Parrin's flat.
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"The defendants knew they would find her and the man she was sleeping with.
"On entering the bedroom, Kaydon Prior immediately leapt onto Mr Tomkins who was lying in bed.
"He repeatedly stabbed him with the knife, causing stab wounds to the chest, back and legs.
"The sudden onslaught was completely unexpected."
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A jury at Lewes Crown Court in Chichester heard that Mr Tomkins tried to defend himself with his legs after being pinnned down.
Prior allegedly punched Miss Parrin repeatedly before leaving the flat with Curtis.
Gardner said that Prior "dropped the knife as he left the bedroom and then casually walked out the building".
Cops found Prior's DNA on the abandoned knife before discovering a bag of clothes stained with Mr Tomkins' blood at his flat in Three Bridges.
'INTENSELY JEALOUS'
The court heard Prior was violent and controlling towards Miss Parrin during their year-long relationship.
Miss Parrin told cops Prior threatened to kill her if she was ever with somebody else.
Gardner said: "It is the prosecution case that Kayron Prior was an intensely jealous individual.
"He took extremely strong objection to Alicia Parrin being with anyone other than him."
Miss Parrin ended her relationship with Prior on August 11 after moving into her own flat in Crawley.
Mr Tomkins worked at the same leisure centre as Miss Parrin and went back to her flat the following evening after a work night out.
A mutual friend messaged Jason Curtis to say she had seen Miss Parrin with another man, the court heard.
Curtis replied: "Kaydon says to keep an eye out for her and see what she is doing."
'VIOLENT AND ANGRY'
Prior had a key to Miss Parrin's flat, which he allegedly used to enter in the early hours of August 13.
Gardner said: "On the night of August 12-13, Prior learned that Alicia Parrin was out in Crawley with another man.
"He took violent and angry objection to that.
"The combination of Alicia Parrin declaring her relationship with Kaydon Prior to be over and his reaction to hearing that she was spending the night with another man at her flat led to him taking a knife and launching a murderous attack on that man.
"One of the blows from Kaydon Prior's knife penetrated Tomkins' aorta, the body's main artery, causing very rapid and catastrophic blood loss leading to rapid collapse."
'DEFENCELESS'
While emergency services battled in vain to save Mr Tomkins, cops found Jason Curtis hiding in bushes near the flat and arrested him.
Gardner said: "The prosecution case is that these two defendants, acting together, murdered Harrison Tomkins.
"Kaydon Prior did so by wielding the knife which inflicted the fatal injuries.
"Jason Curtis assisted and encouraged him in his murderous enterprise, up to and including following Kaydon Prior into the bedroom.
"He watched as Prior delivered blow after blow to the defenceless Mr Tomkins with the knife.
"It was only some way into that assault that Jason Curtis left the room to await Kaydon Prior outside."
Kaydon Prior and Jason Curtis deny murdering Harrison Tomkins at the flat in Crawley on August 13 last year.
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Prior also denies beating Alicia Parrin and carrying an offensive weapon.
The trial at Lewes Crown Court in Chichester continues.
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.