Murder suspect claimed victim had "gone to a party" court hears
Killed: Darran Lancashire, of Main Street, Kimberley.
By Sarah Firth
A DOUBLE-MURDER suspect claimed one of his alleged victims had "gone to a party" when friends asked about his whereabouts, a court heard.
Peter Brown is charged with killing both Brian Flaherty, of Derby Grove, Lenton, and Darran Lancashire, of Main Street, Kimberley.
At Nottingham Crown Court yesterday Christopher Trueman, a friend of Brian Flaherty, said he had last seen Mr Flaherty on January 9 this year.
He said he and a friend had left Brown, 41, and Mr Flaherty in Mr Flaherty's bedroom between noon and 12.30pm.
Mr Trueman said he and the friend had then gone into Nottingham to collect the friend's methadone. When they returned around 2.30pm they found Brown alone in the room, the court heard.
Mr Trueman said: "I said hello to him and I asked him where he [Brian] was, and he said Brian had met some girls from Scotland and gone to a party."
Mr Trueman claimed he had slept in the kitchen that night and been woken by Brown at around 1.30am to 2am when he came down to use the washing machine.
He said he found a pair of trainers inside the machine in the morning.
The court heard Mr Trueman had overdosed on heroin and alcohol the day before. When he gave a statement to police three weeks later he did not mention Brown using the washing machine. Mr Trueman denied claims from Mr Brown's defence that he was now lying, and said his memory had become clearer after spending time in rehab.
Pathologist Professor Guy Rutty told the court Mr Flaherty died as a result of stab wound up to 10cm deep to his heart.
He said methadone and morphine levels in his body were a contributory factor, and Mr Flaherty was already dead when a cord was tied around his neck.
Brown, of Main Street, Kimberley, denies the murder of Mr Flaherty, 31, between January 8 and January 13 this year, and of Darran Lancashire, 43, between December 27 last year and January 7.
