Co. Down man accused of trying to kill his neighbour in “frenzied and vicious” knife attack

Giving evidence to Downpatrick Magistrate Court where he indicated that police were “strongly opposed” to Martin Griffin being freed on bail, Det. Const. Martin revealed that the 38-year-old has a previous conviction for manslaughter.

“The manslaughter was in 2001 and involved a stabbing around this same location,” he told Dep. District Judge Philip Mateer.

Standing handcuffed in the dock Griffin, a plasterer from Breezemont Close in Conlig, was charged with attempted murder and possessing a weapon, namely a knife, with intent to commit attempted murder on 7 January this year.

Last Thursday Griffin’s friend and fellow neighbour 54-year-old Mark David Courtney, from Breezemount Walk, was remanded into custody accused of assisting an offender and possessing a single .22 bullet on the same date.

In court today Det. Const. Martin said he believed he could connect Griffin to both of the charges, adding that police were objecting to the 38-year-old being freed due to concerns over flight, witness interference and further offending.

He told the court it was just after 8am on Tuesday morning when the police were alerted that the victim had been stabbed during a fight outside his own home.

When police arrived officer could see he had suffered a “slash wound” to his face as well as multiple puncture wounds to his back and abdomen and when he was take to hospital, scans revealed he had suffered punctures to his left lung and kidney.

Having “identified the defendant as the assailant,” police obtained CCTBV footage which showed Griffin leaving his property at 07.47 and then allegedly being involved “in an altercation with the injured party.”

That same footage showed that moments before the police arrived at 08.15, Griffin had changed his clothes and left the area at the same time as Courtney.

Having gained access to Griffin’s home, the court heard how officers “saw blood throughout and around the bath and sink area where he appeared to try and wash himself.”

“Police have also received a blood stained knife from the defendant’s home,” the investigator told the court.

DC Martin said police had information which suggested Griffin had travelled to Derry before returning to north down where he attended the home of an ex-partner seeking help.

When she refused to open her door, Griffin was recorded telling her “I’m going to get lifted for attempted murder.”

On friday evening, “police attended an address in Bangor where the defendant was located and he was arrested.”

During interviews “he made no comment to the majority of questions” but did admit it was him in the footage leaving the area after the fight.

Griffin claimed “he was intoxicated, is an alcoholic and cannot remember the incident.”

Turning to bail objections, DC Martin told the judge “this was a frenzied and vicious attack involving the use of a weapon after a petty argument where the statement from the injured party says he had accused him of stealing smoke from him.”

Emphasising the risk of further offences given his previous offending which incudes breaching court orders as well as the manslaughter conviction, the officer said an additional objection was that Griffin “fled the scene and went to ground for four days before he was arrested and was actively evading police.”

While he conceded Griffin’s previous offending, defence solicitor Clive Fullerton highlighted the defendant had killed the man “when he was 15…and that was an incident where he was defending his mother.”

He also accepted that Griffin’s current address would not be a suitable bail address but he argued that with the investigation and and forensic testing “going to take a very long time,” the defendant could be freed on bail with conditions.

Judge Mateer said although there is a presumption in favour of bail in every case unless there were good reasons to conclude otherwise, “the police have outlined circumstances that lead me to conclude there is a strong Prima Facie case.”

“The injuries are significant and the defendant’s actions in the aftermath of the encounter lead me to conclude that he as indeed seeking to evade the police,” the judge added.

Ruling that he was refusing bail on all three grounds of police objections, Judge Mateer remanded Griffin into custody and adjourned the case to 5 February.