A MAN was stabbed to death in his own home by his step-son who then washed to rid himself of blood stains, a court has heard.

Victim, 64-year-old Andrew McDiarmid, had been knifed up to 17 times, of which 13 were stab wounds and some described as incised wounds. 

Gordon Cole, KC, prosecuting, told a jury at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday (Mon) that  a number of these injuries had been "inflicted with severe force".

In the dock is 23-year-old Benjamin Moglione, who denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Mr Cole, opening the prosecution case, said that the defendant’s mum Alison Moglione had called 999 at around 8.45pm on January 24, 2022 and reported that her son had stabbed her husband. 

Emergency services arrived at the family home in Oldfield Way, Heswall, Wirral and found Mr McDiarmid lying gravely wounded on top of the bed in the couple's bedroom.

Moglione, who suffers from a "number of physical and mental health issues, in particular epilepsy", was arrested at the scene and has remained in hospital since.

Mr Cole alleged that there was "absolutely no doubt" that he had killed Mr McDiarmid. “This case, to a degree, is somewhat unusual. This is not going to be a case in which there is going to be any real dispute over the facts of what happened."

He described how all three parties had been at home that evening with Moglione having recently "come out of a period of isolation in his bedroom" due to Covid. Mr McDiarmid meanwhile was self-isolating in his room after testing positive.

At around 8pm, Moglione "told his mum that he was going to take his medication before going to bed". Around half an hour later, Ms Moglione went to shower in the upstairs bathroom.

An internal CCTV camera showed Moglione walking downstairs from his bedroom in his dressing gown and slippers before collecting a knife from a magnetic block on the wall of the kitchen.

He returned upstairs clutching the weapon in his right hand before entering Mr McDiarmid's room. Audio captured by the same camera picked him up asking: "Hello. Are you alright?

Mr McDiarmid replied: "Yeah. Are you?" Moglione said: "No. Not really."

Mr Cole said that "screams, groans and heavy breathing" could then be heard on the footage. Moglione subsequently entered the bathroom where his mum had been showering in order "to wash himself of blood stains".

Ms Moglione could be heard asking her son if he was ok and he replied, "Yes."

She then asked: "What’s wrong Ben?" and he responded by saying, 

"Don’t call the police,” and she asked what had happened.

Moglione said, "Don’t. Just." His mum said, "What have you done? Is it over?"

Footage then showed her walking downstairs with a towel wrapped around her, followed by her son. The bloodstained knife was later recovered from on top of the bed in the master bedroom, said Mr Cole.

The trial continues.