Wirral man stabbed nephew in drunken brawl (From Wirral Globe)

Wirral man stabbed nephew in drunken brawl

9:12am Tuesday 19th March 2013 in News

A 41-year-old man who stabbed his nephew in the abdomen during a drunken brawl has been jailed for three years.

A court heard that victim Aidan Harrison nearly died as a result of the attack by Jason Cullen and needed blood transfusions totalling about 50 pints.

Cullen attacked Mr Harrison with a knife after turning up at the house he was staying at on the Wirral in the early hours of July 15 last year.

Rowena Goode, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court how Mr Harrison, who was brought up by Cullen’s mother, was staying at the home of Cullen’s brother, Dominic, in Bentinck Road, Birkenhead.

Cullen arrived having drunk between ten and 15 pints of beer and the two men began to argue. At one point Dominic Cullen came downstairs to see 30-year-old Mr Harrison holding his brother down against a radiator and told them to “pack it in” before leaving the house.

About 15 minutes later Cullen stabbed Mr Harrison and his brother found him “lifeless” in the garden when he returned home.

Mr Harrison suffered a heart attack at the scene and suffered five more heart attacks on the operating table at the Royal Liverpool Hospital where he had been rushed for emergency surgery.

Miss Goode said that he required blood transfusions totalling 54 units, which is around 50 pints, after his liver and aorta were cut. He was described as making a slow recovery.

When interviewed by police Cullen said he could not remember what happened and Mr Harrison also failed to give an explanation.

The court heard that a woman neighbour heard a man in the garden say, “You’ve stabbed me”. She said another man replied, “Die, just die.”

Cullen, of Carlton Road, Birkenhead, was charged with attempted murder and stood trial last month but on the second day he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful wounding.

Sentencing him today Judge David Aubrey, QC, said, “What the court is confronted with is the consequences of that which undoubtedly happened. As far as the precise circumstances of what happened they remain to this day unclear.

“You thrust a knife into the abdomen of your victim. That wound was some 4cm to 5cm deep and would have required at least moderate force.

“Had it not been for the swift intervention of the emergency services at the scene and the intervention of those who attended to him at hospital there is no doubt whatsoever that he would not have survived.”