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Man 'stabbed cousin to death in drunken rage' near Merry Hill

A 26-year-old man stabbed his cousin to death after a petty dispute exploded into murder, a jury heard.

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Christopher Harm

Glen Elvin had got Christopher Harm a job and the pair were travelling - and sleeping - in a van with two colleagues while driving round the country putting up posters advertising a circus.

"This meant they were in close confine for a significant period of time - precisely the sort of arrangement which gives rise to frustrations and resentments when you are tired and, like this case, fuelled by alcohol," Mr Michael Duck QC, prosecuting, told Wolverhampton Crown Court.

A police tent erected near a van in Engine Lane, Brierley Hill

The two men and their colleagues - Alex Henderson and Alex Marshall - went drinking together on the Waterfront near the Merry Hill centre in Brierley Hill after work on Friday October 12.

Elvin and his 28-year-old relative both had a 'great deal' to drink and did not return to the van, in which their workmates were sleeping, until after midnight.

The defendant was three minutes behind his cousin and the pair got into the front seats of the vehicle where their boss - Mr Marshall - heard them exchange 'banter,' the court was told.

The pair continued to swop insults outside the van but the dispute was calmed momentarily by Mr Marshall before Elvin allegedly started pushing Mr Harm.

The defendant slapped the victim without response but soon afterwards both were 'windmilling' - waving their arms to throw blows that made no significant contact, continued Mr Duck.

Mr Harm was allegedly heard to say: "What are you doing this for? We are family."

Police cordoned off the road after a murder investigation was launched

Elvin moved away and went back to the van to get a knife from his belongings and the victim may have anticipated what was going to happen because he reportedly said: 'There is no need for that.'

Mr Duck maintained: "The defendant had lost his temper and was going to resolve this to his satisfaction with a knife."

Mr Harm raised his hands before running away pursued by Elvin who stabbed his cousin through the heart after chasing him down, the jury heard.

The final moment was captured on CCTV and witnessed by Mr Marshall.

The prosecutor concluded: "He struck a ferocious blow with the knife that went straight through the torso with such force really serious injuries were inevitable."

Police and paramedics were called to the scene but could not save the victim.

Elvin from Fern Avenue, Stanley, County Durham, denies murder and the trial continues.

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