THE jury in the Boxing Day murder trial have seen CCTV of a man trying to resuscitate the friend he is alleged to have murdered.
They have also heard the 999 call made by a young woman who was in the street when Luke Miller, 23, fell to the ground.
The prosecution claims Taylor Fenwick, 22, killed Mr Miller, 23, with a single stab wound 12 cm deep that collapsed his left lung.
Fenwick, of Commercial Street, Tadcaster, denies murdering Mr Miller early on Boxing Day last year.
The jury listened to the 999 call while watching CCTV footage of the woman and Fenwick beside Mr Miller lying on the ground.
They heard the woman tell the ambulance control room operator: “He needs an ambulance, he is struggling to breathe, please an ambulance now” and “Please, please, he is going to die, please he is going to die”.
They see Fenwick kneeling by Mr Miller, apparently trying to stop the bleeding and heard him tell the operator: “He tried to break into someone’s house” and “He tried running in my front door”.
On the CCTV Fenwick leaves Mr Miller when a man the prosecution say was his flatmate appears and stays by Mr Miller.
Fenwick returns on the CCTV 52 seconds later. The prosecution alleges he put a knife in his hallway at this point.
Later in the call, the woman says: “It’s too late, he’s dead. He’s dead, sorry” and starts crying.
The operator gives instructions on mouth to mouth resuscitation and Fenwick appears to follow the directions.
The woman says: “He’s breathing, he’s breathing” and the operator gives instructions on CPR which the woman follows.
Fenwick stands up and on the CCTV is seen to flag down the ambulance as it arrives.
The jury have heard paramedics were unable to save Mr Miller’s life and he was declared dead at the scene.
Home Office pathologist Sam Hoggard, who did a post mortem on Mr Miller at York Hospital in December said the stab wound that killed him went through Mr Miller’s left lung and penetrated the left pulmonary artery causing a large amount of internal and external bleeding and collapsing the left lung.
It would have required at least mild to moderate force and was unlikely to have been caused accidentally.
“The knife must have been held firmly in the hand with the arm braced and the firm brace must have been maintained throughout for the knife to deeply penetrate the body,” said Dr Hoggard.
It was possible that Mr Miller was able to make “purposeful” movements for a short period of time that could be as long as 83 seconds but the doctor couldn’t say how long.
Tests revealed the 23-year-old man was just under two and a half times the drink driving limit. He had taken cocaine and ketamine in the hours before he died and it was possible he was experiencing the effects of taking both drugs.
Dr Hoggard said Mr Miller had “superficial” slash or incised wounds on his left hand that could have been caused by Mr Miller trying to grab the knife or protect himself for it.
He could not say whether any of the wounds had been inflicted by a hunting knife or a kitchen knife found by the police near the scene, both of which the prosecution claim had Mr Miller’s blood on them.
The trial continues.
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