A witness has told a jury she saw the moment Ryan Kirkpatrick was fatally stabbed in Carlisle — and says she identified the attacker as one of two men who are on trial accused of his murder.
Kane Hull, 29, of no fixed address, and Liam Craig Porter, 33, of Fulmar Place, Carlisle, both deny charges which allege murder and, alternatively, manslaughter of 24-year-old Mr Kirkpatrick, who was knifed multiple times just before 9pm on Saturday, 18th September, last year.
CCTV already seen by a Carlisle Crown Court jury showed that a large number of bystanders were present at the moment Mr Kirkpatrick was attacked. Both Hull and Porter deny being present at Carlyle’s Court at this time, but admit they were there during an earlier incident around 15 minutes beforehand.
One of the bystanders who was present when the second incident occurred gave evidence from the witness box today.
Chloe Bowman, a friend of Mr Kirkpatrick, had gone to the Mamoa bar within Carlyle’s Court between 8-30pm and 9pm, she said.
Miss Bowman said she heard Mr Kirkpatrick tell a group of people — including her — about the previous incident, which she had not witnessed.
She was then sat on a bench outside Mamoa with Mr Kirkpatrick about three metres away. “I just seen Kane enter the court and stab Ryan,” she said.
Prosecutor Tim Evans asked: “When you say ‘Kane’, who is the ‘Kane you are referring to?”
Miss Bowman said: “Kane Hull.”
Asked how long she had known Kane Hull, Miss Bowman said: “I just really knew of him. I knew of him for about two years.”
Ask how many times she saw Mr Kirkpatrick being stabbed, Miss Bowman told jurors: “I seen the once. I just saw the one time. Ryan was obviously bleeding from the lower bit of his body. Obviously we knew something bad had happened. I was in shock.” She added: “Obviously when the stabbing had finished we did try to help him.”
Asked what the attacker was wearing, Miss Bowman recalled a dark tracksuit and a balaclava.
“How were you able to see it was ‘Kane Hull’?” asked Mr Evans.
Miss Bowman alleged: “Because Kane had intentions to come back and do it.”
Mr Evans asked: “Tell me what it was about this person in dark clothing with a balaclava that allowed you to recognise it was ‘Kane Hull’?”
“I could recognise him anyways from, like, his eyes. I could tell it was him because I knew of him,” replied Miss Bowman, who added: “From his build.”
Miss Bowman said she had consumed two bottles of wine herself before going into town, and also what she agreed could have been three Pornstar Martini cocktails by the time of the incident.
“That’s right, yeah,” she told Hull’s barrister, Toby Hedworth KC, as he suggested such alcohol intake would mean not having the clearest version of what was occurring, “but I still remember what happened.”
Miss Bowman conceded she was “very drunk”. She admitted saying in a sworn deposition made before the trial that she “knew” it was Hull, and stating: “I could see his eyes and heard his voice.”
She told jurors she didn’t know Hull’s actual voice — only that she heard the attacker speak.
“His intention was to come back anyways; when he has turned up I’ve known it’s him. It’s not going to be someone else, is it,” said Miss Bowman.
Mr Hedworth suggested to her: “That’s the reality: you can’t identify this person with only their eyes showing. You’re coming to the conclusion that whoever had had the trouble with Ryan the first time was the same person coming back.”
Miss Bowman replied: “Yeah.”
The trial continues.
