Woman fatally stabbed in head by Birmingham flatmate, trial hears

A woman was stabbed in her head and neck in a row over whether a friend was a "snitch", a murder trial has heard.

Shannon Stanley, 27, died at the flat she shared with Pablo Hoad and his girlfriend in Small Heath, Birmingham, in the early hours of 10 May, 2022.

Mr Hoad, who denies murder, told police he killed her after drinking 10 bottles of Stella Artois and smoking cannabis.

Prosecutor Richard Atkins KC described it as a "frenzied knife attack" on an "unarmed woman".

Following the attack, the trial heard Mr Hoad, 29, had called 999, saying he had "stabbed a girl through the throat".

Birmingham Crown Court heard the argument started when the defendant demanded that Ms Stanley's friend leave the flat.

Chris Williams had been socialising with the group along with Mr Hoad's friend Waqar Ali.

Giving evidence, Mr Ali said the defendant addressed Mr Williams, saying: "You've got to leave. You get out of my yard. I don't want no snitches in my yard."

After Mr Williams had left, Mr Ali said Ms Stanley became "very angry" with Mr Hoad, saying she was going to "slice up everyone in the house".

He told the court the defendant pushed her into the kitchen, where he "lifted her up" and "slammed her down" on to the work surface.

Ms Stanley managed to stand up, he said, but Mr Hoad started stabbing the top of her head and was "glued to her body".

Mr Ali added he attempted to wrestle him off the victim, but slipped on her blood and all three of them fell to the floor.

The witness said after being overpowered by Mr Hoad he went to the defendant's girlfriend's bedroom for help and looked back, to see him "just standing there, with three knives in his hand".

The court heard that Mr Hoad claimed Ms Stanley was unarmed in his 999 call, but then "changed his story" according to the prosecution, later claiming he acted in self-defence, saying he tried to take a knife off her.

He then said she was unarmed and was reaching for a meat cleaver, before changing his account again and saying she had been armed with the meat cleaver.

Mr Atkins told the jury: "We suggest you'll be left in no doubt that he was not acting in self defence that night."

The trial heard that after the attack Mr Hoad took the three knives and a meat cleaver and stashed them at Mr Ali's home on Whitmore Road.

Cross-examining Mr Ali, Peter Finnigan KC said that he understood that Ms Stanley could be aggressive after drinking alcohol.

Mr Finnigan also asked Mr Ali if Ms Stanley had a "habit" of showing him a meat cleaver at the property, to which he said that she had retrieved one from her bedroom a few nights before to show him.

Mr Ali said she told him: "I've got this for protection. If anybody tries to hurt me, I've got this."

He told the court the defendant had earlier in the evening been attacked by 10 men in the street, five of whom had machetes.

He claimed that Mr Hoad had a knife and managed to "get one of them".

Upon hearing about the attack on Mr Hoad, Mr Ali said Ms Stanley pulled a knife from her waistband and said: "Where these mans at?"

The trial continues.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]