An alleged killer stabbed a man repeatedly in a York front garden, a court heard today.
Ian Franklin, 33, who denies murder, stabbed 35-year-old Greg Marshall in the chest, face and neck during what was described as a frenzied attack in York’s Bell Farm Estate, a jury at Leeds Crown Court was told.
Mr Marshall, who was a father, managed to escape the attack in Franklin’s front garden, but then collapsed in an alleyway and went into cardiac arrest, said prosecutor Rupert Doswell KC.
He was taken to York Hospital by ambulance but was pronounced dead at 5.25am on 17 August last year, just 40 minutes after the fatal stab wounds were inflicted.
A post-mortem revealed that the boxer had suffered fatal wounds to his chest, two of which penetrated his lungs and heart. He suffered 14 stab wounds in total, with other “incised” wounds found to his neck and face.
Franklin was later charged with murder, unlawful wounding and possessing a bladed article in a public place. He denies all the allegations.
Mr Doswell said the attack occurred in Franklin’s front garden in Roche Avenue at about 4.45am.
“In the moments before his death, Mr Marshall ran from his attacker, but his injuries caused him to stumble and collapse in a nearby alleyway,” he said.
“There were repeated attempts to revive him at the scene and at York Hospital, but he was pronounced dead within 40 minutes of his injuries being inflicted.”
Fight caught on video
Mr Marshall had gone to Franklin’s home with his friend Jason Rhodes, 33, whom the prosecution says was also stabbed by Franklin and suffered a wound to his arm.
However, the prosecution said that at one point, Rhodes armed himself with a machete and he too was charged with carrying a bladed article, which he denied.
It means Rhodes, of Union Terrace, York, finds himself in the unusual position of being both a defendant and an alleged victim in the case.
Mr Doswell said at the time of the incident, Franklin was living with his partner in Roche Avenue. They had been friends of Rhodes and they knew Mr Marshall.
“Ian Franklin said Greg Marshall was a hard man who was a bare-knuckle fighter,” added Mr Doswell.
He said that on the night before the killing, Rhodes had messaged Franklin asking him to “settle a debt he owed” and that if he didn’t pay him, he would “have to pass the debt onto someone else”.
Mr Doswell said that Franklin seemed “annoyed” about the demand.
He said the “visit” to Franklin’s home by Rhodes and Mr Marshall “may be related to this debt” and may also be “related to the supply of drugs”.
At about 4.30am on 17 August, Ring Doorbell footage from a neighbour showed Franklin and Mr Marshall fighting in the street at some distance from Franklin’s home, suggesting that Franklin “made the decision to leave his house and follow the two men to that location”.
“It seems Mr Franklin is advancing towards Mr Marshall,” added Mr Doswell.
“The two of them struggle and it appears Mr Marshall twists something from Mr Franklin’s hand. Immediately that happens, Mr Franklin turns and runs. Greg Marshall pursues him and both men can be seen on the footage holding bladed weapons.”
He said that Franklin had turned up for the fight with a machete and knife, but Mr Marshall disarmed him of the machete, which prompted Franklin to run.
“Mr Marshall was then seen throwing the machete away in the direction of Mr Franklin as he runs off,” added Mr Doswell.
“Jason Rhodes can be seen following both men a short distance behind. Mr Marshall can be seen walking back in the direction of the cul-de-sac where they had originally been fighting.”
Arguing with a woman
Camera footage showed Mr Marshall near Franklin’s home on a bike with Rhodes in front of him.
“Mr Marshall is seen arguing with a female who is likely to have been Ian Franklin’s partner,” said Mr Doswell.
Another Ring Doorbell camera then showed Rhodes and Mr Marshall move away from Franklin’s home towards the roundabout which led to Bell Farm Avenue.
“A camera on Bell Farm Avenue shows Jason Rhodes still on foot while Greg Marshall is on his bike,” added Mr Doswell.
He said video footage showed Rhodes holding “what appears to be a long, bladed weapon” which the prosecution alleged must have been the machete that Marshall had taken off Franklin and threw away.
A neighbour in Roche Avenue said that he and his wife were woken in the early hours of the morning by the “sound of voices”.
He looked outside and saw Rhodes and Mr Marshall on bikes and started filming them on his mobile phone because he wrongly assumed they were stealing bicycles.
Video footage from that phone showed Mr Marshall sitting on his bike near Franklin’s front garden, allegedly shouting to Rhodes to throw the machete “through the window”.
“Voices are then heard and then something happens that causes Mr Marshall to jump off his bike and run into Franklin’s garden,” said Mr Doswell.
There was shouting, then a “smash or a bang”, followed by “loud screaming”.
“That clip from the phone shows Greg Marshall running out from Franklin’s front garden, followed by Jason Rhodes,” added Mr Doswell.
“Jason Rhodes no longer has the machete. Greg Marshall still appears unarmed and both were pursued by Mr Franklin at speed who is carrying a long, shiny item in his right hand.”
‘He stabbed me bro’
Franklin was shouting at both men as he chased them down the street. The footage from the neighbour’s phone showed Mr Marshall running away but then slowing down and turning to Rhodes.
Mr Marshall is then heard saying to Rhodes: “He stabbed me. He stabbed me bro. I’m bleeding. Ring an ambulance quick.”
Mr Marshall then ran into an alleyway, stumbled and collapsed to the ground.
“He isn’t seen to move again,” said Mr Doswell.
“Jason Rhodes bends down over him and calls an ambulance.”
Police were on the scene just before 5am as the neighbour who filmed the incident was giving Mr Marshall chest compressions.
An ambulance crew took over the revival attempts but it was evident that the boxer had suffered serious injuries to his chest, neck, face and stomach. Paramedics also treated Rhodes for the stab wound to his arm.
Mr Marshall was taken to York Hospital with “the most severe form of cardiac arrest” and despite the best efforts of doctors he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
A post-mortem revealed he had suffered three incised wounds to the side of his chest caused by a sharp blade. He also had seven “sharp-force” wounds to his face and neck and four injuries to his wrist and hands “consistent with him resisting an assault with a sharp weapon”.
The injuries suggested he had been stabbed “at least” 13 times. He had suffered “prolonged” blood loss which led to cardiac arrest.
Half-metre blade
Police searched Franklin’s address, but he wasn’t present. They found several knives including a “long blade just over half a metre in length” in the cupboard below the stairs and a 20cm-long knife in the kitchen sink which was submerged in water.
The latter was “assessed as being capable of causing the fatal injuries to Mr Marshall’s chest” and the prosecution alleges it was also the weapon used to stab Rhodes.
Franklin was arrested that same morning at an address in nearby Byland Avenue about five hours after the incident.
He was quizzed by police the following day when he claimed that he and his partner had been woken by a “banging on his door” by “two or three men” who he said were brandishing weapons including “what looked like” a machete, a metal pole and a knife.
However, Mr Doswell said the evidence showed that neither Rhodes nor Mr Marshall were wielding weapons at the time of the incident.
He said it was Franklin who “brought the machete to the scene and confronted these two men”.
Franklin claimed he and his partner had gone outside and he armed himself with a kitchen knife after hearing her scream in the front garden. He claimed he saw Mr Marshall punch his partner and lunge at her.
He said at that point he “intervened” and that he “could have stabbed Greg Marshall twice” during the ensuing struggle.
‘I’m not a grass’
Mr Doswell said that while Rhodes was being treated for his injury at the scene, he allegedly told one officer: “Go away. I’m not telling you sxxx.
“If my friend’s died, I’ll tell you everything, but I’m not a fxxxxxx grass.”
He was arrested on suspicion of carrying a machete but denied any wrongdoing and refused to answer police questions.
Mr Doswell said there was no dispute that Franklin caused the fatal injuries to Mr Marshall. However, Franklin denies intending to cause the victim at least really serious harm which the prosecution must prove to secure a conviction for murder and unlawful wounding.
“The prosecution does not accept that he was acting in defence of his partner and, even if he was, stabbing a person multiple times to the chest, face and neck cannot amount to reasonable force in such defence,” added the prosecuting barrister.
He said it was not disputed that Rhodes suffered a wound to his arm, but Franklin claimed that Rhodes wasn’t in his garden during the incident and denies stabbing him.
Mr Doswell said that Rhodes was seen carrying a machete in the street before the incident in the garden and that he was “being urged by Mr Marshall” to throw the weapon through Franklin’s window.
The trial continues.