'I was scared': Black Country man tells court he stabbed mother and stepfather in self defence
A 26-year-old man who stabbed his mother and stepfather to death at their home acted in self defence following a heated row, a court has heard.
Anmol Chana told jurors he repeatedly knifed Jasbir Kaur, 52, and Rupinder Bassan, 51, until they “stopped coming at him” at their home in Moat Road, Oldbury, on February 22.
Birmingham Crown Court was told Mr Bassan approached Chana with a knife shouting “I’m going to finish you off”, but dropped the weapon after he was barged by the defendant.
Chana, of Hamilton Road, Smethwick, then picked up the knife and stabbed Mr Bassan and Mrs Kaur – who was trying to separate them both.
"I was scared he was going to do something so I stabbed him a couple of times,” told the court.
“In that moment I was trying to stop him stabbing me first. He was trying to attack me. My mother was trying to get in between us, she was smacking my arms. My mum got in the way so I ended up stabbing her. I was using the knife until everybody stopped coming at me.”
The case so far:
Chana denies murdering the couple. The violence escalated after a row between Chana and Mrs Kaur over abuse he allegedly faced as a child, the court heard.
Mr Bassan returned home – having dropped Chana’s sister Kiran off at her home – to find them arguing in the lounge that Saturday evening.
Chana claimed Mr Bassan went to the kitchen before returning with a knife, where his mother then told Mr Bassan to “finish him off”, the court heard.
A struggle ensued which spilled into a dimly lit hallway. The couple were dead within five minutes of Mr Bassan returning home at 8.11pm that night, the court heard.
After the stabbings, Chana switched the light on to find his mother and step-father lying on the floor, he said. He then sat down in the lounge for about half an hour coming to terms with what just happened.
“I was distraught,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I couldn’t cope with what just happened.”
Wiped
He said he then moved their bodies to a backroom and wiped blood off a door, telling jurors: “I didn’t want anyone to realise what had happened.”
Chana then went upstairs and took money from his mother’s purse totalling around £50.
“I wanted photos of myself as a kid,” he said. “I took photos from her purse. I also took some cash. I needed cash to get out the situation.”
Asked by defence barrister Gurdeep Garcha QC how he felt stealing from his mother’s purse while she was lying dead downstairs, he said: “I was feeling terrible.”
The court heard Chana did not leave the address until about 1.30am on the Sunday, when he drove off in Mr Bassan’s yellow Toyota Aygo. He also took the knife with him because he was “feeling dazed”, he said.
Police and ambulance services did not attend the address until Tuesday morning, the court heard.
Asked by Mr Garcha if intended to kill Mrs Kaur and Mr Bassan, Chana replied: “No, definitely not.”
The court was told Chana drove straight home where he called the NHS helpline because his back was hurting after wrestling with Mr Bassan. He then called a number saved on his phone as “Brazil” – which was an escort – to “get some company”, Chana said.
CCTV showed Chana driving around for several hours after the attack. He told jurors he was “heading nowhere, driving around like a lost man”.
The court heard Chana then made a call to his mother’s phone at 2.45am, to which Chana told the jury: “I was trying to come to terms with what happened. I was hoping it never happened. I thought maybe I have gone mad.”
The trial continues.
