A man on trial over an alleged one-punch killing has told a jury he was violently attacked – and lashed out at the father-of-seven Steven Johnson in self-defence.
Derek Pearson is on trial at the High Court in Aberdeen accused of causing the death of Mr Johnson, 50, by chasing him down and attacking him on the city’s Carmelite Lane.
Pearson, 47, was drinking in The Scottish Embassy bar alongside his former partner Kathleen Cunningham on the evening of March 12 2023.
He is alleged to have flown into a jealous rage and run at Mr Johnson, pinned him against a wall of the lane and to have struggled with him.
It is claimed that, during the struggle, Pearson punched Mr Johnson to the head, causing him to fall to the ground whereby he became unconscious.
He later died from his injuries at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Pearson is also accused of pushing Ms Cunningham to the ground where he straddled her and held her arms.
He denies all the charges against him and has lodged a special defence of self-defence.
Accused claims he was assaulted out of the blue
On day four of the trial, Pearson gave evidence in his own defence from the witness box.
Pearson told his defence solicitor David Moggach KC that he had followed Mr Johnson and Ms Cunningham out of the bar and up Carmelite Lane.
This was due to concerns for her safety, said Pearson.
He said he found the pair kissing in a doorway and told Mr Johnson he was “welcome” to her.
Pearson claimed that, as he turned and walked back down the lane, he was struck on the back of the head without warning.
Asked by Mr Moggach if he saw who hit him, Pearson said: “I don’t know.”
He added: “I fell to the ground. I got kicked to the body and the face as well – it was rapid.”
It was stated by Pearson, who works as a fish filleter, that Ms Cunningham then jumped on him and that he ended up face down on the cobble street.
Pearson claimed it was at this point he received a series of kicks to the face.
When he stood up, Steven Johnson was standing in front of him, said Pearson.
Mr Moggach asked: “Is that when you swung a punch?”
“Yes,” Pearson replied.
He added: “Because I was being kicked in the face.
“I just had to defend and protect myself.”
Pearson then described how he saw Mr Johnson fall first into a nearby car and then onto the ground.
“I knew straight away he needed help,” Pearson told the court.
Pearson went on to claim that he tried to attend to Mr Pearson as he lay on the ground until police arrived.
Pearson accused of ‘concocting a story’ over punch
However, during cross-examination by advocate depute Margaret Barron accused Pearson of “concocting a story about a repeated assault” by Mr Johnson and Ms Cunningham.
Ms Barron put it to Pearson that he had to “make an excuse for your behaviour on that night, haven’t you?”
“Definitely not,” Pearson replied.
Ms Barron asked: “You were angry when you left the pub, weren’t you?”
She pressed Pearson, by adding: “You had seen your partner in the company of another man, and you were annoyed by that, weren’t you?”
“No,” Pearson said, “I was hurt.”
Ms Barron put it to Pearson that he didn’t act in self-defence.
But rather, she said, Pearson had carried out an “unprovoked punch” that caused the death of Steven Johnson.
“I disagree,” Pearson replied.
Defence solicitor says injuries back up client’s claims
In her final speech to the jury, the advocate depute said there was “overwhelming evidence” against Pearson.
She accused him of carrying out an “unprovoked assault”.
Ms Barron added: “Steven Johnson had done nothing to provoke Derek Pearson when he punched him.
“That punch led directly to the death of Steven Johnson – Derek Pearson killed Steven Johnson that night.
“And that was a criminal act.”
During his final speech, Mr Moggach portrayed the Crown case on what occurred that night as made up of “snippets and parts here and there” of what took place.
He described it as similar to reading a book and being asked to keep up with the plot when “you have missed out every second page”.
Mr Moggach stated that it was his client who was being attacked that night, and that Pearson has “injuries that support him, that back him up”.
Calling the evidence against Pearson “insufficient”, the defence advocate invited the jury to acquit his client on all the charges against him.
The trial, before Judge Graham Buchan, continues.
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