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Search forKiller gave himself up to police
Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 10:00
David Neal, 22, denies murdering his friend William Moss in a Newquay bedsit on May 8 last year but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.
Two other men were in the bedsit at the time of the attack. Witness Ricky Sutton told Truro Crown Court yesterday how Neal offered his hands to police as Mr Moss lay dead on the floor.
The court has heard previously how Mr Sutton and Andrew Parker, the bedsit tenant, split up a brief fight between Neal and Mr Moss and then realised that Mr Moss had been stabbed.
When asked by prosecution barrister Michael Meeke QC what Neal did when police arrived, Mr Sutton said: "I let him go and he held his two arms out straight in front of him – as if saying he was sorry and didn't mean to do it."
The court heard the four men, who all knew each other, had first met up at the Resource centre for young people in Newquay before going to Mr Parker's bedsit at Tower Road to play poker and listen to music.
Mr Sutton told the jury that later he and Neal went to the defendant's flat where Neal injected amphetamines before the pair walked back to Tower Road. When asked about Neal's behaviour back at the bedsit, Mr Sutton said: "He was different, a bit more wired. On the way back the amphetamines had kicked in."
Mr Sutton said the brief argument between Neal and Mr Moss was based on Neal saying he had a child and Mr Moss saying the child was his niece or nephew.
The court had previously heard Mr Moss died at the scene from a knife wound to the heart despite resuscitation efforts.
Paul Dunkels QC, defending, told the court Mr Sutton said in his police interview: "In my view there is no way that Dave planned to kill Will. I would have seen something in his face. I think what he did was impulsive. I think it was out of character for Dave. Dave and Will were best mates."
The court has heard Neal is detained at a hospital. During the trial he has been accompanied in the dock by two nurses and a social worker with training in mental health.
Christian Brown, a paramedic supervisor with South Western Ambulance Service, told the court that when he arrived at Tower Road, Mr Moss showed no signs of life. When asked what Neal did when police arrived, Mr Brown said: "He turned and offered his hands to the police officer."
The trial continues.
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