Lee McKnight murder: Accused 'burned bag of bloody clothes'

A teenager who was part of a gang that murdered a man over a drug debt burned a bag of bloody clothes given to him by one of his co-accused, a jury heard.

Jamie Lee Roberts was 17 when Lee McKnight, 26, was beaten and dumped in a river to drown in July 2020, Carlisle Crown Court was told.

Mr Roberts, now 18, said he provided clothing to some of those accused of being involved in the killing.

He and five others, including his father Paul Roberts, deny murder.

Those on trial, all from Carlisle, are:

Mr Roberts initially told detectives he had been nowhere near the house on Charles Street in Carlisle where Mr McKnight was brutally attacked, the jury was told.

But midway through his final police interview he admitted he "blanked" three calls from Carol Edgar, who lived at the house, before receiving a call from Mr Davison.

He said Mr Davison told him something "bad's gone down" and Mr Roberts, who owed him money, should bring clean clothes, before he added: "I've just had a bit of trouble, mush, and I need it. Could do with it being fast."

Mr Roberts said he and his father put three sets of clothes in a rucksack and took them to Charles Street where he exchanged the bag for another one.

Asked what was in the bag he was given, Mr Roberts said: "Just minging clothes that had blood on them. I just burned them."

Asked whether he was frightened by the blood, he responded: "I thought 'this is dodgy'. This is why I just did that and I got away, so now I don't owe him any money."

Mr Roberts said the television at Charles Street was on "full blast" with music on and he saw Carol Edgar and her daughter Coral, who was "in hysterics", as well as Mr Davison who was wearing only a "pair of boxers".

When accused of beating Mr McKnight, the defendant responded: "You're just thinking fantasies. I wasn't in the house."

Jurors also heard from Mr Roberts' ex-girlfriend who said he had called her "crying" and said: "It was just one person who got out of hand, they're a real psychopath."

When asked by prosecutors who she thought Mr Roberts was talking about, she answered: "Jamie Davison."

The trial continues.

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Jamie Lee Roberts, along with his father Paul, 51; Jamie Davison, 26; Coral Edgar, 26; Carol Edgar, 48; and Arron Graham, also 26; all deny murder. The trial continues.