MURDER TRIAL LATEST: Prosecution give closing speech to jury

Charlie Stevenson, 21, denies murdering Christopher Higgs, also 21, at her home in Portland Street, Boston.

The prosecution allege Mr Higgs died from a single stab wound to the heart which was deliberately inflicted by Ms Stevenson on 14 July last year.

But giving evidence at Lincoln Crown Court, Ms Stevenson told a jury she only picked up a knife after Mr Higgs attacked her in the kitchen.

Ms Stevenson said Mr Higgs was strangling her and pulled the knife towards himself as they struggled.

But addressing the jury in his closing speech, prosecution barrister Christopher Donnellan QC said Ms Stevenson had given a variety of accounts of what happened.

“She didn’t tell the truth,” Mr Donnellan told the jury.

“Not only did she not tell the truth, she did not tell the truth straight away.”

In her 999 call to the ambulance service Ms Stevenson said Mr Higgs had slipped and fallen on the knife.

It is alleged Ms Stevenson also told a police officer who arrived at the scene that Mr Higgs had stabbed himself.

Mr Donnellan claimed Ms Stevenson deliberately lied to save her own skin and not to lose custody of her young son.

The prosecution accept Ms Stevenson was suffering from a recognised unstable personality disorder.

But they argue Ms Stevenson was still in control of her actions and had a history of picking up knives.

“This was no accident,” Mr Donnellan alleged.

“The reality is she was well in control of what was going on.”

The jury heard Ms Stevenson had been in a long term “on-off” relationship with Mr Higgs and they had a baby in June 2020.

At the time of his death Mr Higgs was under bail conditions to live with his brother in Spalding after police were called to an incident at Portland Street on 30 May.

But Ms Stevenson said by 10 July she had allowed Mr Higgs to stay at Portland Street until he found a room elsewhere.

Mr Donnellan admitted: “We do know there was bickering on 14 July.

“We are not suggesting there was no physicality, we are not suggesting there was no manhandling by Christopher of her that day.”

Ms Stevenson told the jury she only picked up the knife to scare Mr Higgs after he got her in a headlock.

“He was getting tighter so I picked up the knife because I was scared and wanted him to get off me,” Ms Stevenson said.

Asked what she intended to do with the knife Ms Stevenson said: “Scare him away.”

“He carried on and got tighter around my neck.”

Ms Stevenson said she was holding the knife in her right hand.

“I couldn’t see or breathe,” Ms Stevenson added.

“Chris bent down squeezing me, but I pulled away with the knife.

“He got his hand on my hand with the knife, I pulled it away, he pulled the knife towards him, then something bad happened.”

Ms Stevenson, of Portland Street, Boston, denies murder on 14 July.

The trial continues.