Angmering woman on trial for murder gives evidence

Alison Walder, 22, said she was cooking a chicken curry in the kitchen of her home at Parsons Close, Angmering, when she realised her boyfriend was outside fighting with his former friend Adrian Ede.

The mother-of-three ran into the street and allegedly stabbed Mr Ede twice with the large knife.

Mr Ede, 29, of Littlehampton, died soon afterwards from his fatal injuries. He suffered a 19cm deep wound which pierced his right lung.

Walder denies murder at a trial at Lewes Crown Court. Her boyfriend, Lewis Martindale, 22, who lived with her at the house, denies a charge of affray.

The jury has heard how the two men were good friends before they fell out weeks before the fatal fight on the night of September 15 last year.

Walder told the court the couple had been threatened by Mr Ede. She said: "I just wanted him to leave us alone so we could get on with our lives. We didn't want trouble."

She said that while she was cooking, Martindale went outside for a cigarette. Moments later, she realised he and Mr Ede were fighting.

She ran outside to try to stop them, still carrying the knife she had been using to chop up chicken. "I didn't stop to think. I just stood there for a couple of seconds. It happened really quickly. I just wanted them to stop."

Walder said she saw a friend of Mr Ede's join in the fight and attack her boyfriend. She walked towards the fighting men and demonstrated to the jury how she was still holding the knife in her hand, although she did not realise it at the time.

She said: "I pushed them both. I got in between them. Ade punched me twice. Then I pushed him again and told him to **** off and go home."

Jury members have been told they will have to decide if the two stab wounds were accidental.

The trial continues.