Murder accused 'stabbed man in the eye then killed his friend'

Danny Black (pictured), aged 34, suffered extensive internal bleeding and the permanent loss of sight in one eye during the incident on March 16 at 5, Bramble Court, Newbury.
He told the jury at Reading Crown Court on Thursday how Joshua Anderson, aged 22, Mathew Anderson, aged 20, and Dean Robinson, aged 32, of Thatcham, tricked their way into the flat of his friend, Darren Lock, before attacking the pair.
Mr Black said Mr Robinson held him while Joshua Anderson set upon him with a knife as Matthew Anderson stabbed Mr Lock.
“He [Joshua] said, “Are you Danny Black?” so I said “Yeah”, then I saw he had a knife in the palm of his right hand,” Mr Black said.
“He said: “I’ve got this for you”, kissed the blade and stabbed me in my armpit. I tried to put my arms out to stop him doing it again.
“I was still being held, and he stabbed me in the eye.”
Mr Black said he fought back and escaped, but upon seeing Joshua blocking his path back into the flat where his friend was being attacked he fled for his life.
The trio deny murder and attempted murder, and the Anderson brothers also deny attacking and threatening other people on the same night in Newbury and Thatcham in a “violent rampage” across the towns as part of a vendetta against the Black family.
Barristers defending the three men alleged that Mr Black, a self-confessed career criminal with hundreds of convictions, had started the attack and was responsible for his best friend’s death as the men fought back.
He denied that guilt at leaving Mr Lock, an innocent party with no connection to the Anderson brothers or Mr Robinson, to bleed to death in his flat was the motivation for seeking revenge against the three in court.
Mr Black’s sister, Leighanne, also appeared before the court in the second week of the trial to tell how two of the men threatened her earlier on the day of violence and promised they would slit the throats of every member of her family.
The second week of the murder trial also heard evidence from several residents from Queens Road, Boundary Road and York Road who were unwittingly caught up in the drama as their quiet streets were placed on lockdown as police swarmed over the area hunting Mr Lock’s killers.
The trial continues.