Stab accused 'felt like killing'

Paul Gilligan died shortly after the attack in Bolton

A teenager posted a message on the website Facebook saying he felt like killing someone hours before stabbing a man to death in a bar, a court heard.

Leon Ramsden, 19, is accused of murdering Paul Gilligan, 31, while he was drinking in the Pepper Alley in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in July.

Mr Gilligan, of Little Hulton, Salford, suffered stab wounds to his shoulder and chest in the attack.

Mr Ramsden, of Bolton, denies murder at Manchester Crown Court.

The jury heard that on the day of the murder, Mr Ramsden wrote on his "wall" on the social networking website: "i feel like killin some1 need to stay of the hard stuff".

'Play fighting'

Prosecutor Guy Gozem QC told the jury that several customers witnessed the 13 July attack but did not realise Mr Ramsden was stabbing Mr Gilligan as the knife was hidden in his fist.

He said: "The stabbing was as unexpected as it was brutal.

"He brought the bottom of his clenched fist - in which he was holding a knife - down twice into Gilligan's body.

"It was done so quickly that nobody saw the knife - onlookers thought that what they had seen had been strange 'back-handed' punches."

The stabbing took place at the Pepper Alley bar

The court heard the two men were seen "play fighting" minutes before the attack.

Mr Gilligan held Mr Ramsden in a head lock and rubbed the top of his head.

Mr Ramsden then left the bar, only to return seconds later to stab Mr Gilligan before running off, jurors were told.

Mr Ramsden was arrested when a nightclub doorman found a knife sheath on him and alerted the police.

He was at first detained on suspicion of possession of a controlled drug and then arrested on suspicion of attempted murder when detectives realised he matched the description of the man responsible for the stabbing.

The Facebook entry had been deleted but was recovered from a laptop used by a witness to access the site after hearing about the stabbing, the court was told.

The trial continues.

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