A VERDICT of lawful killing was recorded by a coroner this afternoon in the case of an intruder who was stabbed to death by a blind man.
The unusual verdict is usually applied only to cases where police have shot dead a suspect during a siege to prevent anyone else from being harmed.
Thomas O'Connor, 63, stabbed Lee Kelso after the 23-year-old had threatened him and his wife and broken down his front door in the early hours of the morning.
Following the incident in June last year, police launched a murder inquiry. But Mr O'Connor was not charged with the killing after police took advice from a leading barrister who said no jury would convict the frail man.
The law says people are allowed to use "reasonable force" when acting to defend themselves.
And at the inquest Stockport coroner, John Pollard ruled that Mr O'Connor had acted with reasonable force and within the law.
The court heard how Mr O'Connor, who is registered blind, and suffers from heart problems and arthritis, had feared for his life and that of his wife, Erith, when Kelso battered down the door of their home in Brinnington, Stockport.
Witnesses said Kelso had drunk up to 12 pints of strong lager and some whisky at the Farmers Arms pub next door to the O'Connors' home before going into their garden, probably to urinate, at 1.30am.
Struggle
An argument followed and Kelso began hammering on the door, threatening Mr O'Connor that he would "sort him out".
As Kelso battered on the door Mr and Mrs O'Connor frantically tried to telephone police. But because of his poor sight and their panic, they misdialled.
Mr O'Connor then grabbed a knife and during a struggle at the front door Kelso suffered a fatal stab wound to his chest.
Recording his verdict, Mr Pollard said Mr O'Connor had been confronted with the very frightening circumstances.
"I am not in anyway saying the public should take it upon themselves to kill people entering their premises. I believe Mr O'Connor acted within reasonable bounds to protect himself and his wife and therefore record a verdict that Lee Ross Kelso was lawfully killed."
Camera
Their front door was fitted with a Yale lock, two bolts and a security chain.
They also had a security camera linked to a video recorder fitted to the rear of the house, a security light at the front and an alarm.
Following Lee Kelso's death Mr and Mrs O'Connor were moved from their home for their own safety and are now living at a secret address.
The couple's children and grandchildren are also understood to have left the area because of fears for their safety. Shortly after the stabbing the O'Connor's home was torched in a suspected revenge attack.
Mr O'Connor is blind in one eye and partially sighted in the other. He can only see shadows and walks with a stick.
Following the attack police found that his front door had been hit with such force it was off its hinges and the door frame had also become dislodged.
Do you agree with the coroner's verdict?
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steve, warrington (18/03/2004 at 15:34)