Jury hear of son's emotional confession in phone call

Elizabeth Murray was worried when 19-year-old Kobe had not returned home following a night out and she had learned from her daughter of an incident at Chicago's nightclub in Stourbridge the evening before.

Mrs Murray told Birmingham Crown Court that there were long periods during which her son could not speak. His first words after several seconds' silence were "'Mom, mom, mom, mom' – it seemed to go on forever," she said.

"He said he was sorry, along the lines that he'd done something silly, he'd messed up. I didn't know what he was on about. I said 'Please don't tell me this has got something to do with what happened last night.'

"I was struggling, he was suddenly really upset and I couldn't understand what he was saying. He said he didn't mean to do it, somebody had punched him, he didn't know what had happened."

The mother-of-three said she dropped the phone, cutting off the conversation, then immediately rang her husband, asking him to return home, and then called the police. Asked why, she said: "Because if Kobe had done something, I wanted him to hand himself in."

Kobe Murrray, of The Broadway, Dudley, denies murdering 24-year-old Mr Passey at the Rye Market club in the early hours of August 6 last year following a 'trivial' altercation moments before.

The men, who did not know each other, were with friends when their two groups ended up in the same area of the dance floor. Murray is alleged to have plunged the blade into Mr Passey’s heart after 'some punches’ were thrown.

Childhood friend Jordan Poole, who was with Mr Passey that night, told the jury: "You could sense there was going to be trouble."

He said Ryan could sense it too and sent their friend John Lynch 'to get the rest of the lads'. He thought he saw Ryan, who was behind him, 'throw a punch' and then 'go down'.

The court also heard from the defendant's father Errol Murray who said that after returning home and speaking to Kobe on the phone, he drove to a flat in Great Bridge, Tipton, to meet his son who told him he had 'lashed out' with a knife after he and a friend were attacked.

Asked by his father where he had got the knife, he said it had been 'passed' to him. He said friends had since 'got rid of' the weapon and burned the clothes he had been wearing.

Both parents described their son as a 'decent, respectful' young man, adding that his actions that night were totally out of character. Murray claims he was acting in self-defence. The trial continues.