THE jury has retired to consider its verdict in the Dale Partington murder trial.
Drug dealer Leon Rushworth is on trial accused of murdering Mr Partington, 27, by stabbing him in a fight about money.
Mr Partington was found collapsed outside his home in St Lawrence Avenue, Snaith, by his mother on December 16 last year. Hull Crown Court heard he bled to death after being stabbed in the groin.
Following a summary of the case by the judge, the jury retired yesterday to consider its verdict.
The men and women on the jury spent two hours deliberating yesterday before being sent home and were due to resume their discussions this morning.
The jury was previously told by prosecutor Malcolm Swift QC in his closing speech that it was a "clear case of murder".
He said: "The defendant went out to confront his customer, who was not paying up.
"Drug dealers do not last long if they let their customers get away with not paying.
"Failure has dire consequences, it has to because it sets a bad example to the rest of your clientele – they have to know what happens if you don't pay up."
Mr Swift said it is the Crown's case that Mr Rushworth, 38, of Chestnut Close, Smith, pulled out a knife and stabbed his victim twice.
"I suggest the defendant punched out, took out his knife and stabbed him twice in the groin," Mr Swift said.
"We are not suggesting he was trying to kill the deceased – he was stabbing him to teach him a lesson."
However, speaking for the defence, Nicholas Johnson QC argued Mr Rushworth had no history of violence and claimed Mr Partington's death was an accident.
He said: "I'm not here to tell you Leon Rushworth is a good bloke. I'm here to defend him.
"Despite the fact he is a criminal, the one thing he has not done is involve himself in offences of violence.
"The suggestion you are being asked to swallow is that, in the first two weeks of December, Mr Rushworth morphed from someone buying cannabis into some sort of cocaine cartel enforcer. It was a cheap shot. I totally ignore the evidence.
"To get his money back, this great drugs enforcer waits for his victim to ring him."
