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Alleged Bilston murderer 'under pressure' in lead-up to stabbing

A pool player accused of stabbing a man to death in the street after a row about the game’s rules had been struggling to cope with a series of family upsets over the past two years, a court heard.

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The scene of the stabbing in Church Street, Bilston. Inset: victim John Joyce.

Lyndon Smith had been forced to move home twice in the last two years, suffered the death of his mother and badly broke his ankle, the court heard.

He was also dealing with his wife’s depression and his teenage daughter’s pregnancy, it was heard.

“I idolise my family but it got too much – I just want a normal life,” he told police.

Smith, aged 47, is accused of murdering John Joyce in Church Street, Bilston, after becoming so upset during a game of pool with members of Mr Joyce’s group at The Market Tavern that he fetched a knife from home and returned to town to look for them.

He is also charged with stabbing the victim’s uncle James McDonagh and friend Michael Keenan in Walsall Street where he had fled after allegedly knifing to death 20-year-old Mr Joyce, an Irish traveller who was visiting family in Bilston.

Pressure

In police interviews, Smith spoke of the pressure he had been under over the past two years.

He and his family had been forced to move out of their home in Clarence Road in the city centre after problems with their neighbours, which had led them to involve the council’s anti-social behaviour team.

They had settled in Wednesfield but Smith’s wife became unhappy at their new address, feeling isolated, and began to suffer from depression.

“I’d just spent most of my money on decorating the place but I idolised the ground she walks on so I put in for an exchange,” Smith told police.

The family then went to live in Bilston. In the same two-year period, Smith fell downstairs, breaking his ankle in two places and was stuck in bed for weeks. His mother was also taken ill and died.

He said: “My mother was the only person who understood me – when she died it destroyed me.”

In addition, one of his daughters had moved back in with them, bringing her children, setting off his wife’s depression again.

“I’ve had that much stress, that much pressure,” Smith told police. , it’s been non-stop for two years. I’ve been trying so hard to get some normality,” Smith told police.

Smith, of Owen Road, Bilston, denies murdering John Joyce and pleads not guilty to wounding Mr McDonagh and Mr Keenan with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The case continues.

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