House of horror

ANDRE BRIGHT: murder charge

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A DAD stabbed his girlfriend to death after beating up a club bouncer, a court was told yesterday.

Andre Bright allegedly stabbed mum-of-one Victoria Adams twice in the abdomen and chest at her Springwood Hall Road, Fitton Hill home after assaulting a doorman outside Bar 101 in Yorkshire Street, Oldham, in the early hours of December 8, 2013.

His murder trial at Manchester Crown Court heard how Victoria had been out drinking with friends between December 5 and 8 for the first time since giving birth to the couple’s daughter in August.

Bright is alleged to have taunted Victoria (22) during this period that he would sleep with her friends, threatening her and forcing her to flee home twice for her safety.

On December 5 Victoria went to a concert with friends and returned home with Kerry Brennan at around 4.45am. When she returned with a friend Bright (30) tried to upset her. Around 8.20am that morning Victoria arrived at her friend Kerry Brennan’s parents’ house distressed and crying, wearing just a dressing gown and no shoes.

She told Kerry and her mother how Bright had spit in her face, told her he was going to have sex with her friends and thrown a coke bottle at her before she fled. Bright returned later that afternoon and the pair made up.

Late on December 7 Bright arrived at Pinchitos bar, Royton, where he spoke to Carla Leeming, whose family owned the bar, and a woman, Charina, who Bright had been seeing. The group left and arrived at Bar 101 at 1am. Bright was refused entry and began arguing with door staff ultmately stabbing one in the face and head with an afro hair comb, leaving his covered in blood

Bright said he had no recollection of the incident - despite it being captured on CCTV.

At 2am that night, a text conversation between Victoria and Bright’s sister, Michelle Dunkley, led to Victoria leaving hre home to stay at Michelle’s Honeywell Lane house She stayed until 6am, when friends told her Bright had left.

Bright returned to Victoria’s house at 9.30am - where he was seen outside by Hayley Emsley, who lived opposite.

He called 999 at 10am asking for an ambulance because “Someone is dying in front of me, someone has stabbed her.”

Police arrived a few minutes later and found Bright standing in the kitchen with a “fixed and vacant stare” and both hands in his pockets. Fearing he was armed, PC Griffin drew her taser and asked Bright to show his hands. He refused and PC Griffin used the taser. Bright was taken away in a police van.

Paramedic Michael Southworth found Victoria lying in the hallway, bleeding heavily. She died soon after arriving at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Cause of death was a combination of a collapsed lung and blood loss from a chest wound.

Bright was deemed unfit for medical examination at the time but calculations on blood and urine samples taken later that evening suggested he had between 217mg and 365mg of alcohol in his system, as well as traces of cocaine, insomnia drug Zopiclone and cannabis.

The trial continues.