CARLISLE man Ryan Kirkpatrick was assaulted by murder accused Kane Hull four years before he was fatally stabbed, a jury was told. 

On day five of the trial at Carlisle Crown Court, jurors were given an outline of the previous convictions of both Hull, 29, and his co-accused Liam Craig Porter, 33. Both men deny murder and manslaughter.

Mr Kirkpatrick, 24, was attacked by a masked man in Carlyle’s Court in the city centre on the evening of September 18 last year.

It happened 15 minutes after an incident when Hull allegedly attempted to assault Mr Kirkpatrick with an empty beer glass, the court heard. Both Hull and Porter accept that they were present during that earlier incident, but they deny being in Carlyle's Court when Mr Kirkpatrick was stabbed.

Hull has told his legal team that he fled to the Republic of Ireland in the hours after the attack because he feared being “wrongly accused” of the murder. Among the agreed facts was medical evidence.

There was a brief pause in proceedings as prosecutor Kim Whittlestone summarised this so that relatives of Mr Kirkpatrick in the public gallery could leave the courtroom.

Once they had left, she summarised the findings of forensic pathologist Dr Brian Rogers, who carried out a postmortem on Mr Kirkpatrick. This revealed that he had suffered three stab wounds – one to his back, one to his abdomen, and one to his chest.

It was the latter wound, severing the victim’s pulmonary artery, which proved fatal, said Dr Rogers. The cause of death was recorded as shock, haemorrhage, and the stab wound to Mr Kirkpatrick’s chest.

The agreed facts included Hull’s previous criminal convictions.

In March 2016, he was convicted of violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon, a glass bottle. He used this to assault a man. Miss Whittlestsone then read the next conviction into the court record.

“He was convicted on October 16, 2017, of affray and possession of an offensive weapon (an aluminium wrench and hook)," said the barrister.  "Kane Hull and two others chased Ryan Kirkpatrick into Coral Bookmakers, whereupon Ryan Kirkpatrick was assaulted by being struck to the floor before being punched and kicked.

“Kane Hull had in his possession a wrench. But no weapon was used in this assault. Kane Hull was sentenced to a period of imprisonment as a result of this offence.”

In November, 2018, the jury heard, Hull was convicted of affray, and possessing an offensive weapon, a broken bottle. He and another male assaulted assaulted three people in a social club.

Armed with the broken bottle, Hull used this to cause injury. The jury were also told about the previous convictions of Liam Porter.

His record includes 15 entries for a variety of offences, including vehicle interference, police obstruction, conspiracy to commit theft, and three burglaries, each of which led to him getting jail sentences.

Porter had admitted those listed offences, none of which were committed with Kane Hull, the jury heard. 

The court heard also about how in the early hours of September 19, police received a 999 call from a witness who saw a white Shogun type vehicle parked at a junction on the A6071 near Longtown.

The witness became suspicious and called the police when he saw that somebody in the vehicle was holding something that was on fire out of the window.

The jury then heard about how a male, later shown to have given a false name, booked holiday accommodation on Sunday, September 19, telling the owner of River View Holiday Park at Newcastleton he needed accommodation for a week.

"The male arrived at the premises at 7.30pm," said Miss Whittlestone. "The male paid £750 cash. He stated that his name was Jason Hetherington and wrote down his mother’s address.

The male was Kane Hull.

“He said the accommodation was for himself and his female partner and she needed a break.” When invited to look at the accommodation, he seemed uninterested and said he wanted food as he was 'starving.'

He was told that there were places to eat at nearby and he left, not being seen again until 10am on Tuesday. “A turquoise vehicle pulled up and Kane Hull and a second male got out of the car. This male was Liam Porter.”

A short time later, Hull and Porter left the site but then returned with a blonde, long-haired female.

All three entered the pod [the holiday accommodation]. The owner did not see them again.

On Saturday, September 25, the owner called the number through which the booking was made and a male answered, saying she had the wrong number.

After reading an article about Ryan Kirkpatrick’s murder in the local press, which included photographs of the defendants, the sites owner called the police.

The jury heard also about accommodation bookings made for Hull and Porter and a female in Alston on September 21 last year and bookings in The Republic of Ireland.

Miss Whittlestone said: “At approximately 9pm on September 22, a female, who gave her name as Donna Farren, booked a hotel room for two nights at the 5 Corner’s Guest House Ballyclare, Northern Ireland, for her partner, who she said was working away.

"She spoke with an English accent and paid £130 over the phone, using a credit card in that name. She said her partner had lost his mobile phone and that was why she was making the booking.

"She said her partner would be arriving shortly. She appeared confident and pleasant. Two males arrived an hour later.

These males were Kane Hull and Liam Porter. They said they were here for work.

"They were seen getting into a grey Skoda motor vehicle, which was parked in the car park. They left on the morning of September 24, 2021."

The jury then heard about another accommodation booking that was made for a hotel on September 24 under the name Olivia Memmory. The booking was for a triple room, a double and a single bed.

The names of guests recorded in paperwork for the booking were Olivia Memmory,  Brian Merris and Josh Merris (though the prosecution suggest this could have been a misspelling of Morris). The two men arrived at 10.30pm and checked out at 11.41am on Saturday, September 25.

Concluding the accommodation facts, Miss Whittlestone said: “Olivia Memmory made a reservation for three guests between September 25, 2021, to September 27, 2021, at Grandad’s Place, Carracastle, Co Mayo. Confirmation of the booking and directions to the property were found on Olivia Memmory’s phone.

"On September 28, 2021, armed officers of the Irish Garda attended at Grandad’s Place, Carracastle, Co Mayo, to execute a warrant for the arrest of Liam Porter and Kane Hull.

"The property was a residential bungalow. On entering, Liam Porter was arrested. Kane Hull was found hiding in the attic. He was arrested. Both were detained and transported to Claremorris Garda Station."

The items seized by police following the arrests included a white iPhone, two receipts from mobile phone top-ups, and five carrier bags containing assorted clothing. There was also a shopping list. As well as listing various food items, the list concluded with: "hair dye, glasses, hat/wig, masks, Munchies, and Red Bull."

The prosecution has now concluded outlining its case and evidence, the jury heard. It was at this point that defence counsel for both defendants confirmed that neither defendant will give live evidence before the jury.

Mr Justice Linden, the judge in the case, told both barristers that the jury are entitled to draw “such inferences as may appear proper” from the defendants' failure to testify.

The jury will continue sitting on the case today.