A man who stabbed his ‘defenceless’ friend to death in his own bathroom has been found guilty of murder following a three-week trial.
22-year-old Alfie Miller killed 52-year-old Darren Hughes in a savage knife attack at the victim’s house in Davies Road, Longhedge, in May this year.
The night before the fatal assault, the pair together consumed alcohol and various drugs including cocaine and cannabis.
At around 7.45am the following day, Miller stabbed Darren multiple times in the bathroom with a kitchen knife, before leaving the address and shouting for neighbours to call the police.
At court following his arrest, the defendant admitted manslaughter but denied murder, initially claiming that Darren had made repeated, unwanted advances towards him and that he had been acting in self-defence, before relying on a defence of ‘loss of control’ in court.
However, this defence was dismissed by HHJ Dugdale during the trial, who subsequently directed the Jury to consider only whether Miller had the intent to murder or seriously harm Darren.
The jury at Winchester Crown Court found Miller, of Willow Drive, Durrington, guilty of murdering Darren. He has been remanded into custody and is due to be sentenced tomorrow (17 December).
Senior Investigating Officer DI Darren Ambrose, from the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “This was a brutal and violent attack against a defenceless victim, and my thoughts remain with Darren’s friends and family at this difficult time.
“Miller left the flat following the attack, leaving Darren to die in his own bathroom. Upon his arrest, he immediately admitted stabbing Darren but claimed to be acting in self-defence.
“Darren was completely unarmed, however, and was preparing to get into the shower when Miller murdered him.
“I am pleased that the jury has come to the correct verdict and found him guilty of murdering Darren. This is the only outcome that truly reflected this horrendous crime and has at least provided Darren’s family with a feeling that justice has been done.”
In a tribute to Darren, his family said: “Alfie Miller has today been found guilty of murder and for us this was the only outcome we could ever have accepted.
“We want to thank Wiltshire Police and the Crown Prosecution for their hard work in securing the correct verdict.
“We also want to thank all those people who we know tried so hard to help Darren in what we know must have been a horribly shocking and distressing situation for them.
“We can only ask now that we can be left in peace to grieve and come to terms with the loss of Darren.
“No one deserves to die in the horrific and violent way that Darren did and this had been very hard for us all to accept.
“Please could we ask people that if you are tempted to make negative or speculative comments on social media that you stop before you type.
“Please ask yourself how you would feel if this was a member of your own family. Darren had a young son who does not deserve to read those types of comments about his much-loved Dad.”
