THE girlfriend of a man who died of stab wounds on his doorstep told a court he begged her to calm him down moments before his death.
Eleanor Roberts told Hull Crown Court her boyfriend Dale Partington called her from his home shortly before his death to tell her he was "angry" and needed her to "calm him down".
Mr Partington, 27, was found collapsed outside his home in St Lawrence Avenue, Snaith, by his mother on December 16 last year.
He bled to death after being stabbed twice in the upper thigh.
Leon Rushworth, of Chestnut Close, Snaith, is on trial accused of his murder.
The prosecution allege Rushworth and Mr Partington both armed themselves and met each other in the early hours in Snaith and had a fight.
It is alleged Rushworth knocked both his victim's front teeth out before stabbing him twice.
The court heard that, after Mr Partington called his girlfriend, he received a telephone call from Rushworth and left the house to meet him.
Miss Roberts told the jury: "He was very agitated. He wanted me to go down to calm him down.
"I asked what he meant but he didn't reply. He wouldn't answer the question.
"He repeated himself several times saying something bad was going to happen and he wanted me to come down.
"He said he would get me a taxi to go and see him because I don't drive.
"He rang back and said he had calmed down and was in bed with his dog, Scuffy. He said he couldn't get me a taxi. He said he was all right."
Mr Partington had called her four times before his death.
Miss Roberts told the court she had never seen him take part in any "violent or unruly" behaviour.
In cross-examination, Rushworth's barrister Nicholas Johnson QC put it to Miss Roberts that Mr Partington had a "short fuse".
He said: "Putting it bluntly, Dale had quite a short fuse and would drink and get involved in acts of violence.
"If he owed someone some money and they asked for it back, he would get wound up?"
She replied: "Yes".
He added: "The reason Dale wanted you to go and see him is because he was so angry he was going to do something. He wanted you to stop him from doing something."
A text message sent by Miss Roberts to a friend the day after his death was read to the court, showing how she had blamed herself.
It read: "He wanted me to go to see him, he was begging me to calm him down and said something bad was going to happen and I didn't help him."
Miss Roberts told the court her boyfriend had been banned from pubs in Snaith and Rawcliffe for fighting and that he was a regular cocaine user.
The court heard Mr Partington had been out drinking with friends before his death and had received text messages from Rushworth, asking for him to repay a £100 cocaine debt.
In reply to one text, Mr Partington allegedly said: "Look, he thinks he is a gangster."
The court heard that, following a text conversation between the two men, Mr Partington left his home armed with a metal bar and met Rushworth in the street. It is alleged Rushworth was armed with a knife.
Rushworth claims the pair had a fight and Mr Partington ran off after getting the "better of him".
Mr Rushworth denies murder and the trial continues.
