A teenage girl murdered her cousin’s boyfriend by stabbing him in the heart in an act of ‘murderous rage’, a murder trial has heard.
Paige Poulton, then 19, was said to have been ‘quarreling’ with Jack Cadwallader at a flat in Harrietsham, Kent in the early hours of July 2.
She then allegedly punched the victim in the mouth before ‘snapping’ when he seemed to laugh off the attack.
It is claimed that Poulton then grabbed a knife and delivered a single but ‘forceful’ blow, causing the blade to penetrate his chest.
Mr Cadwallader collapsed almost immediately, with efforts to revive him both at the scene and then at hospital proving futile.
Poulton hid outside in nearby bushes for almost an hour before eventually being discovered by police, the court heard.
Following her arrest, she repeatedly told a constable she had been attacked by Mr Cadwallader.
But at the start of her trial today, prosecutor Sarah Jones KC informed the jury at Maidstone Crown Court of six men and six women the teenager had had ‘murderous intent’ when she stabbed the victim, KentOnline reports.
Paige Poulton (pictured), then 19, was said to have been ‘quarreling’ with Jack Cadwallader at a flat in Harrietsham, Kent in the early hours of July 2
Jack Cadwallader (pictured) collapsed almost immediately, with efforts to revive him both at the scene and then at hospital proving futile
Ms Jones said: ‘The Crown say she did this in an act of anger and aggression. She was wound up.
‘There were any number of ways she could have dealt with the situation they were in but she went straight for the most dangerous and violent method she could and she killed him.’
Poulton, now 20 and from Haringey in London, denies murder and possessing a bladed article.
She is likely to argue she acted in self-defence, the court heard.
Jurors were told Poulton had been staying with her distant cousin Shannon Byrne, also Mr Cadwallader’s girlfriend, at the time of the stabbing.
The prosecutor stated the couple had a ‘stormy’ relationship, which in the hours up to his killing had been ‘particularly fraught’.
They met up with others at the Muggleton Inn Wetherspoon pub in Maidstone on July 1 but Ms Byrne left the group and joined Poulter and her boyfriend Clive Harris as well as a woman called Bibiana Valery after bumping into them in the town centre, and following a number of squabbles and bickering.
All four then caught a train just after 6pm before heading to Ms Valery’s home in Southfields Way.
Poulton, now 20 and from Haringey in London, denies murder and possessing a bladed article
The court heard this had been a ‘difficult period’ for Poulton who had lost her accommodation and needed to rely on friends for somewhere to live.
She was said to have found Mr Cadwallader ‘increasingly irritating’.
In a message to her mother a little over 24 hours before his death, Poulton said: ‘Jack keeps going on imma (sic) end up stabbing the Cunr (sic).’
At Ms Valery’s home, there was drinking and socialising as well as videos uploaded to Snapchat.
Ms Byrne began contacting various people to find out where her boyfriend was, eventually messaging an acquaintance, Matt Smith, who she asked for a lift to the flat.
After Mr Smith agreed, they arrived at the address shortly after 1.30am with Mr Cadwallader jumping out of the car before it had stopped moving, the court heard.
Mr Smith described Mr Cadwallader as his ‘usual hyper self’, though a row flared as soon as he entered the property, the jury heard.
The court heard that Ms Valery asked ‘What the f*** are you doing here?’ with Ms Byrne complaining to Mr Smith for bringing him as she knew he would ‘kick off’.
Maidstone Crown Court heard the teenager had had ‘murderous intent’ when she stabbed the victim
It was then that Poulton allegedly punched Mr Cadwallader in the mouth, causing his lip to bleed.
The court heard he ‘laughed it off’ and said it did not ‘bother’ him, with Poulton then responding to say she did not like the way he treated her cousin, that he thought he was ‘something special’ and to ‘get the f*** out’.
Amid calls for everyone to ‘calm down’, Mr Cadwallader exchanged words with Poulton’s partner and left the flat, having ‘offered him outside’ for a fight.
Poulton then allegedly exclaimed she was ‘going to go f***ing mad’, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and then ran back to stand by Mr Harris at the patio doors.
Mr Cadwallader allegedly initially responded by holding up his phone as if recording to say ‘she’s got a knife’.
Ms Byrne told him Poulton did not have one, thinking her cousin only wanted to scare him away, the court heard.
Still outside, Mr Cadwallader picked up a metal chair, using the legs to ward off Poulton, jurors were told.
The prosecutor told the court, describing the moment he was allegedly attacked, that Ms Byrne had seen Poulton stab, ‘with intention, hard, into the left side of Mr Cadwallader’s chest’.
On Poulton’s arrest, she made various ‘significant’ comments such as ‘he tried to beat me up’ and ‘he has come in and tried to attack me’
The court heard Poulton ‘did it really quick but really hard’.
A 999 call was said to have captured ‘the chaos’ at the scene with those present arguing about how best to deal with a wounded man.
Mr Smith later told police he had seen Poulton step forward and stab his friend using a ‘swinging motion and quite a lot of force’.
It was decided to drive Mr Cadwallader to hospital rather than wait for the emergency services, however, he was no longer breathing on arrival.
Despite the efforts of paramedics and then an air ambulance crew, Mr Cadwallader was pronounced dead shortly before 3am.
On Poulton’s arrest, she made various ‘significant’ comments such as ‘he tried to beat me up’ and ‘he has come in and tried to attack me’.
Poulton also claimed Mr Cadwallader had beat up her cousin and ‘tried to boot’ her French bulldog.
Despite this, she answered ‘no comment’ to questions once formally interviewed.
Poulton was found to have traces of alcohol, cocaine and THC – the breakdown product of cannabis – in her urine, as well as drugs for anxiety and insomnia
A knife of 15.2cm was one of three found by police in the kitchen sink, confirming a complete DNA profile for Mr Cadwallader.
Subsequent blood tests revealed he was more than double the drink-drive limit at the time of death, with suggestions of recent use of cocaine and morphine – possibly from heroine – as well as anti-psychotic, anti-depression and anti-anxiety drugs, and one for treating insomnia.
Poulton was found to have traces of alcohol, cocaine and THC – the breakdown product of cannabis – in her urine, as well as drugs for anxiety and insomnia.
To find her guilty of murder, the jury was told the prosecution had to prove Poulton had either intended to kill or to cause really serious injury as she stabbed Mr Cadwallader.
On the topic of self-defence, the barrister said it may be argued Poulton’s actions were justified due to the ‘size and reputation’ of the victim and ‘in the heat of an attack’ from him on herself or another.
But the prosecution disputed this as ‘opportunistic fiction’, describing Poulton as ‘the aggressor’.
Prosecutor Ms Jones added Mr Cadwallader was ‘not attacking anyone at that point in time’ and on the contrary had not reacted to violence from Poulton when she punched him.
She added Ms Cadwaller had not been armed, saying Poulton was not threatened but had commented on how she was ‘mad’ and ‘couldn’t control’ her emotions.
The trial, which is expected to last up to four weeks, continues.
