Grantham man found guilty of murdering Tony McDermott by stabbing him 51 times
A Grantham man who inflicted 51 knife injuries on his friend faces life imprisonment after he was today (Friday, April 26) convicted of murder.
Nicholas Ward, 37, subjected Tony McDermott, 38, to over two hours of violence after falsely accusing him of stealing his work tablet computer.
Mr McDermott died from heavy blood loss after one of the stab wounds went all the way through his left leg.
Ward, of Eton Street, Grantham, denied murder claiming he was struck first by Mr McDermott and that the fatal injury to his leg was caused accidentally.
But a jury at Lincoln Crown Court rejected Ward's defence and took just over two hours to unanimously find him guilty of murder.
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Ward had sobbed during his evidence but showed no reaction as the jury returned their guilty verdict.
Judge Simon Hirst adjourned sentence on Ward until May 2 but told him he now faced an automatic life sentence.
Judge Hirst told Ward: "You know a life sentence awaits you. What I will have to decide is the minimum term."
The judge also praised Mr McDermott's family for the dignity they had shown during the trial and described Ward's account that he could not remember two hours of the evening as "absolute nonsense."
Victim impact statements from three of Mr McDermott's family will be read out at the sentence hearing.
Simon Ash KC, prosecuting told jurors that Ward lost his temper after wrongly accusing McDermott of stealing his National Grid work computer.
The two men - who had been friends for over 20 years - were drinking at Mr Ward's home in Eton Street, Grantham, on the evening of October 13 when he subjected Mr McDermott to two hours of violence, Mr Ash said.
Ward then "lied and lied again" to cover up his repeated attacks on Mr McDermott, the prosecutor told jurors.
While questioning Ward in court, Mr Ash said he had lied about Mr McDermott's role in the violence.
"Those claims emerged for the first time on March 28, five months after the night you killed Mr McDermott.
"There was no hint of these things in what you said to your friends that morning, these claims about Mr McDermott."
"Having killed your friend, you are now lying about him," Mr Ash told Ward.
"After losing your temper because of your mistake about the tablet, and because you were drunk and had taken cocaine you inflicted all these injuries deliberately on Mr McDermott."
Mr Ward, giving evidence from the witness box, answered: "No".
But Mr Ash continued: "So when you inflicted these 51 knife wounds, including eleven stab wounds and five chop wounds what was your intention?"
Ward replied: "I don't know."
The defendant claimed he attempted CPR on Mr McDermott after "he came round" and found him lifeless on the floor.
But Mr Ash said to him: "It was too late Mr Ward because you had killed him by then? Hadn't you Mr Ward?
"I must have done," Mr Ward replied.
The court heard Ward fled from his home without calling 999 and made a number of incriminating phone calls to three friends.
Ward replied "I don't know" when he was asked why he didn't call an ambulance for his friend.
Mr Ash told jurors every time Mr McDermott tried to get away he was beaten by Mr Ward.
At some point during this long period of violence Ward responded to another house mate who opened his door by saying 'stay in your room, there's nothing to see here.'
"That doesn't sound like self defence Mr Ward?," the prosecutor suggested to the defendant, who again replied: "I don't know."
Ward accepted he must have gone to buy cannabis after fleeing his home and leaving his dead friend behind.
Jurors heard Mr Ward has provided two defence statements and did not tell the police during his interviews what had happened in the room with Mr McDermott.
"The only true account given is the accounts you have given to your friends on the morning of 13 October," Mr Ash told the defendant
"You have lied and lied again to get out of trouble," Mr Ash added.
