Dealer left man with 40 knife wounds - murder trial

A dealer left a grandfather with 40 knife wounds after stabbing him in a dispute about stolen drugs, a murder trial heard.

Gavin Hubbard, 42, was fatally knifed at his home in Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire on 19 May.

The prosecution said Mr Hubbard had been a customer of Tuche Coskun and had also robbed her, and that the defendant went to his house and killed him.

Ms Coskun, 21, of Enfield in north London, denies murder and a separate charge of grievous bodily harm after a friend of Mr Hubbard was injured at the house.

Opening the prosecution case at St Albans Crown Court, barrister Neil Moore said Ms Coskun, of Central Avenue, supplied heroin and cocaine in the town, but he asked the jury not to judge her for being a drug dealer, nor Mr Hubbard for being a drug user.

"It was just part of their lifestyle; it may be chaotic, but it was their way of life," he said.

The court heard that on the evening of 18 May, Mr Hubbard had been to a pub where "he admitted to a friend that he had twice stolen drugs from Ms Coskun, including that day", the prosecutor said.

"Mr Hubbard said that he had stolen 'white and dark', meaning crack cocaine and heroin."

The prosecuting counsel also told the jury that when drugs were stolen "someone higher up the county lines chain expects to be paid for them".

"Coskun would have owed a debt to the person who provided them," he said.

The prosecutor alleged she went to Mr Hubbard's home with a knife to try to get the drugs back.

Doorbell video footage showed Ms Coskun heading in the direction of Mr Hubbard's home at about 02:00 BST on 19 May.

When Mr Hubbard answered the door, Ms Coskun stabbed him nine times in the torso, legs and back, the prosecution said.

He suffered 30 other knife wounds to his hands and arms while defending himself.

His friend Stacey O'Connor came to his aid and suffered minor injuries while she tried to restrain Ms Coskun, the court was told.

Mr Hubbard was heard shouting "she killed me, I'm dead", the prosecution said.

He had suffered a wound to his upper thigh, which cut through his femoral artery and vein, before he collapsed on his driveway and died due to blood loss.

The court heard that when police arrived at about 03:00, Ms Coskun told an officer "I did stab him, but I didn't mean to kill him".

The trial continues.

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