A DRINK and drug fuelled street party ended with a woman bleeding to death after being stabbed twice in the leg.
Toni Butler suffered catastrophic blood loss after Keegan Barnes stabbed her with a kitchen knife when ill-feeling between the pair resulted in the attack, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The 28-year-old is accused of murdering Ms Butler before making desperate attempts to cover up her crime.
Nick Dry, prosecuting, told jurors how Keegan had failed painted over some blood spatter on the wall which was still wet when paramedics were finally called to scene.
Cleveland Police were then called to an address in Vulcan Way, Thornaby at 12.41pm on Thursday, June 10, last year, after the ambulance crew raised concerns.
A teenage girl who was arrested at the time taken into custody for questioning was released, “with no further action” taken against her.
Mr Dry said CCTV footage showed Barnes walking to a shop at around 6am and trying to buy a scratch card with Miss Butler’s bank card before having to settle for a packet of crisps.
Jurors heard how this happened just hours after the defendant had fatally stabbed the 25-year-old and several hours before an ambulance was called to the scene.
Paramedics became suspicious when they overheard Amelia White say - ‘tell them what really happened’ and spotted clothes in a washing machine.
When police arrived at the house Barnes insisted that Toni Butler had turned up ‘off her face’ and self-harmed before she fell asleep on the sofa.
Mr Dry said traces of blood were found in the bedroom and Miss Butler’s blood-covered mobile phone was found hidden under a mattress.
The court heard how Barnes said to a friend ‘What have I done? I have f***ed up. What am I going to do?’ as her story started to unravel.
Mr Dry said: “She admitted stabbing Miss Butler and asked Amelia to get the knife from upstairs and hide it in the garden. She did as she was requested and the defendant tried to conceal it by placing a table over it outside in the garden.”
The paramedics discovered that Miss Butler’s body was cold and appeared to have been dead throughout the defendant’s attempt to carry out CPR.
He added: “The post mortem found that Miss Butler had bled to death. A stab wound had caused massive blood loss.
“A laceration to the back of her head was consistent with a fall to the ground; and a laceration to her left eyebrow was possibly caused by broken crockery - which was found at the scene.”
Barnes, of Vulcan Way, Thornaby, has pleaded not guilty to murder.
The trial continues.
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