A Boston woman was today (Thursday) found guilty of the manslaughter of her partner.
Charlie Stevenson, 21, had denied murdering Christopher Higgs, also 21, at her home in Portland Street, Boston.
A jury at Lincoln Crown Court today cleared Ms Stevenson of murdering Mr Higgs after deliberating for two days.
But the jury convicted Ms Stevenson of the manslaughter of Mr Higgs, and she will be sentenced at a later date.
Officers in boiler suits at the scene of the incident. | Photo: David Dawson
As the jury foreman returned the not guilty verdict to the murder charge, Ms Stevenson, who was stood in the dock, let out a short sigh.
Judge Simon Hirst told Ms Stevenson: “The jury have found you guilty of manslaughter in this case. I am not going to sentence you today. Both advocates will assist me with the appropriate sentence.
“I can not tell you when it will be, but it will not be long.”
The prosecution had alleged that Mr Higgs died from a single stab wound to the heart which was deliberately inflicted by Ms Stevenson on July 14 last year.
Christopher Donnellan QC, prosecuting, claimed Ms Stevenson gave a variety of different accounts of what happened to save her own skin and to keep custody of the couple’s young son.
Mr Donnellan told the jury: “The prosecution case is that the blow was deliberately inflicted, it was not an accident, it wasn’t done in self defence, or because of a mental health issue or a personality disorder which you may hear about.”
But giving evidence at Lincoln Crown Court, Ms Stevenson told a jury Mr Higgs pulled the knife towards himself after strangling her.
Police investigating the murder at the property on Portland Street, Boston. | Photo: David Dawson
The jury heard Ms Stevenson had been in a long term “on-off” relationship with Mr Higgs and they had a baby in June 2020.
Both had a troubled upbringing with Ms Stevenson, who suffered from an unstable personality disorder, being taken into care at the age of four, and Mr Higgs at the age of 12.
At the time of his death Mr Higgs was under bail conditions to live with his brother in Spalding after police were called to an incident at Portland Street on May 30.
But Ms Stevenson said by July 10 she had allowed Mr Higgs to stay at Portland Street until he got some accommodation.
On July 14, Ms Stevenson said she took a FaceTime call from Mr Higgs brother, also called Charlie, while Chris was still in bed.
Ms Stevenson said she prepared her son’s porridge and his lunch in the kitchen while still on the FaceTime call and left the knife on a chopping board.
Mr Higgs came downstairs and went to the toilet where he was tapping on his phone, Ms Stevenson said.
Ms Stevenson said Mr Higgs’s brother asked what was up with him, and she replied: “He’s got no weed.”
Mr Higgs overheard and said: “No, you’ve been on at me all day.”
Ms Stevenson said she asked Mr Higgs to get their son’s food but he didn’t do it.
She then asked for Mr Higgs’ brother to come and get him, telling the jury: “I knew what kind of day it was going to be. I hated it when he had no weed.
“He started to get more angry and he put the phone down on Charlie. He started to bend down and put his forehead on my forehead. I was trying to push him off.
“He just lost control and started attacking me, punching me in the head, and started strangling me. I tried to grab his balls and he let go, but then he grabbed my parts.”
Christopher Higgs, 21, died with stab wounds at the home of Charlie Stevenson last July. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Ms Stevenson said her dog jumped up and they were still moving near the fridge with Christopher still holding her in a headlock.
“He was getting tighter so I picked up the knife because I was scared and wanted him to get off me.”
Asked what she intended to do with the knife Ms Stevenson said: “Scare him away. He carried on and got tighter around my neck.”
Ms Stevenson said she was holding the knife in her right hand. “I couldn’t see or breathe,” Ms Stevenson added.
“Chris bent down squeezing me, but I pulled away with the knife. He got his hand on my hand with the knife, I pulled it away, he pulled the knife towards him, then something bad happened.”
The jury heard Ms Stevenson rang 999 and stayed at the property until paramedics and police arrived.
In her 999 call to the ambulance service Ms Stevenson said Mr Higgs had slipped and fallen on the knife.
She also told a police officer who arrived at the scene that Mr Higgs had stabbed himself.
The defence argued there was a history of Ms Stevenson being assaulted by Mr Higgs – but the prosecution also outlined a number of violent incidents involving Ms Stevenson.
CCTV from a bed & breakfast where Ms Stevenson and Mr Higgs were staying during a temporary placement in May 2019 was shown to the jury.
During the footage Mr Higgs could be seen putting a hand around Ms Stevenson’s neck and snatching a phone from another resident who was ringing the police.
But Ms Stevenson also admitted picking up a knife to scare Mr Higgs during a previous physical row.
Ms Stevenson, of Portland Street, Boston, denied murder on July 14.
She was remanded back into custody and will be sentenced on March 3.
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Myszczyszyn from East Midlands Special Operations Unit, who led the investigation, said: “My heartfelt condolences go to Christopher’s family and friends. I know this has been a very difficult time for them and I hope that the result will give them some closure to allow them to move forward with their lives.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in the investigation, from witnesses to the team investigating. This case highlights the devastating effect using a weapon can have and the fatal consequences that can come with it.
“We as a force are committed to tackling the issue of knife crime in the county with Operation Raptor. Officers in Lincolnshire continue to work around the clock to keep our county as safe as possible from the consequences that knife crime can bring.”
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A disabled man was improperly banned from employing his mum as his personal carer by the council.
Social workers failed to properly consider the request, which had been beneficial for him in the past, the Local Government Ombudsman has found.
The man, who is named only as Mr B in the report, has a severe learning disability, autism and epilepsy, and can exhibit behaviour which causes harm to himself or other people.
When his care centre closed during the pandemic, the council for the area in which they were living at the time decided his mother could be employed as his full-time personal carer.
She quit her job to take the role, and they moved to Lincolnshire shortly afterwards.
Lincolnshire County Council found Mr B was entitled to 35 hours of paid care every week, but said this couldn’t be from a family member.
Mr B’s parents complained, saying his complex needs meant he couldn’t be cared for by strangers. His autism also meant he struggled to deal with change.
Despite letters from his psychiatrist and learning disability nurse, the council said there weren’t exceptional circumstances to justify his mother looking after him.
The county council has admitted it didn’t communicate well with Mr B. | Photo: Lincolnshire Reporter
However, the government ombudsman says the council didn’t properly look into this option or consider experts’ opinions.
The report says: “I am concerned that the council appears to have a blanket policy to refuse such requests and no apparent procedure for determining if there are exceptional circumstances, setting out what evidence it would take into account or recording the outcome.”
Lincolnshire County Council has admitted it didn’t communicate well with Mr B.
It has agreed to reconsider whether Mr B’s mother could be his paid carer within a month. It will also review how it makes decisions like these.
Joanna Tubb, head of learning disabilities at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “The role of the Ombudsman is not to look at the decision itself, but to assess whether the council followed its processes when making the decision, and whether it was communicated effectively. We accept that in this case, we could have communicated better with Mr B about his case.
“In line with the Ombudsman’s decision, we will be reconsidering the request, and reviewing our processes to make sure that we’re communicating effectively with all our service users.”
A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the serious assault in Sleaford on 15 May.
He was arrested in the early hours of this morning (27 May) and remains in custody where he is being interviewed.
A 27-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on 16 May. A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of GBH on the same day. Both have been released on bail.
We continue to ask for anyone with information to come forward.
We are investigating a serious assault after a man has received multiple stab wounds.
We received a call to reports that a man had been found with serious injuries in Mareham Lane, Sleaford, at around 3.30pm on Sunday 15 May.
The victim, who is in his 30s, was taken to hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition.
We have arrested a 41-year-old man on suspicion of grievous bodily harm (GBH). He remains in police custody.
We would like to hear from anyone who may have captured CCTV, dashcam or Go-pro footage in the location at the time the incident was reported, or in the few hours before hand.
Detective Inspector Remy Simon said: “We are carrying out investigations in this area and you may see an increased police presence while we do that. We know this might be worrying, and we would like to reassure you that we believe this to be an isolated incident. There are a number of lines of enquiry we are following up on.
“The victim was found near a busy road and there is a good chance that our local community may have information or footage which could help our enquiries, so we would encourage people to check their dashcams, Go-Pros or CCTV as soon as possible and share anything which may help with us. We’d like to hear about, or view, anything you may have, no matter how small you think it is, as every piece of information could prove vital.”
There are a number of ways to get in touch:
By calling 101 quoting incident number 262 of 15 May.
By emailing force.[email protected]putting incident number 262 of 15 May in the subject line.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can report via the independent charity CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.
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