Shepperton murder accused stabbed victim in 'self-defence'

3:37pm Wednesday 15th October 2008

A Shepperton builder accused of stabbing a man to death in a car park claimed he thought his victim was part of an armed gang coming to attack him and his girlfriend.

Christopher Small, 48, of The Outlook, Towpath, denies murdering 44-year-old David Nunney in a Wembley car park on April 26 this year.

Taking the stand today, Small told an Old Bailey jury how Mr Nunney had phoned his girlfriend three times during the evening looking for another man before he eventually took the phone and spoke to him.

Small, who admitted taking drugs before the attack, told jurors he thought he heard other men on the phone and the sounds of vehicles.

He told the court he believed Mr Nunney had other men with him and was armed and coming to his girlfriend’s flat.

After being asked by prosecutor Timothy Cray why he left the flat, Small replied: “I thought I would take the fight outside to protect my partner. I believed they were going to break in and cause a fight or something worse. I thought they were coming to fight me. I didn’t want them coming in, I knew they weren’t coming to shake my hand. I thought I could handle the fight.”

Small, who denies murder, said he did not attack Nunney and claims he had grabbed hold of him by the waist and they were entangled in a ‘mad struggle.’ The trial continues.