Man found guilty of Brighton murder

06/11/2012

A man has been found guilty of murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison, after a stabbing in Brighton in which a man from Liverpool was killed.

Carlo Dawes had been on trial at Lewes Crown Court for the murder of 36 year old Graham Pethard, who was stabbed in the stomach and neck at a flat in Brighton.

The court heard that Dawes had returned home in the early hours of Saturday 5 May to the flat he shared with his girlfriend to find Mr. Pethard asleep on the sofa.

Prosecutor Lorna Lee from CPS South East said: This case was one where the victim was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time. As Mr. Pethards friends had returned to Liverpool, he asked a female friend if he could stay at her flat, which she shared with Dawes. Mr. Pethard was asleep, fully clothed, at one end of the sofa, with his friend at the other, when Dawes returned home and found him there.  Having already fallen out with his girlfriend earlier in the day, he flew into a rage and attacked Mr Pethard, first with a bottle, and then a knife, inflicting the fatal wounds. I hope todays verdict brings some comfort to Mr. Pethards family.