Man found guilty of murder of clubber on Walsall dancefloor
He was stabbed to death in a Walsall nightclub
A man has been found guilty of the murder of Akeem Francis-Kerr who was attacked on the dancefloor at Valesha's, in Walsall, on 11 March.
Edward Wilson, 39, of Temple Way in Oldbury stabbed Mr Francis-Kerr in the neck in what prosecutors say was a dispute over who was standing where in the nightclub.
29-year-old Francis-Kerr was attacked only five minutes after he arrived at the club, at around 5am.
Despite the efforts of medics, he was pronounced dead within an hour of being stabbed.
Wilson told the jury it was actually his friend who carried out the fatal stabbing, as he took to the witness box to give evidence for the first time last Wednesday.
A jury of six men and six women found Wilson guilty of murder at Stafford Crown Court today after just over 13 hours of deliberations.
Emotional loved ones of Mr Francis-Kerr cried and whispered "yes" as the verdict was returned.
Prosecutor Maria Karaiskos KC told the jury Wilson stabbed Mr Francis-Kerr on the dancefloor "out of anger, arrogance or jealousy" after returning from the toilet to find him talking to two females in a recessed area of the club where Wilson had been standing since he arrived at the club an hour before, at around 4am.
During his own evidence to the jury, Wilson admitted the pair had had an "altercation" and exchanged blows, but denied stabbing Mr Francis-Kerr, saying he did not even know there had been a stabbing until his friend admitted he may have "got" him when they had left the club.
Wilson had said he simply asked Mr Francis-Kerr to move so he could retrieve his drink that he had left in the corner while he went to the toilet, but he responded by saying: "I'm not f** moving."
The defendant said his friend then got involved and "grabbed" Mr Francis-Kerr from behind before the victim was pulled away by bouncers, but he said he had no idea Mr Francis-Kerr had been stabbed.
Two days after the stabbing, Wilson had checked into an apartment in Sheffield which had been booked by his ex-partner for the week of March 13-17.
While the prosecution said he fled there to hide out, Wilson claimed he was only in the city because it was where his ex and their son lived and he was visiting - something that he did regularly.
Wilson was arrested at the apartment on March 14, and in various police interviews denied being involved in the stabbing.
When asked by his defence barrister Nigel Edwards KC why he did not tell police the truth if he knew his friend had admitted stabbing Mr Francis-Kerr, Wilson said he was afraid that it would put his son and his mother in danger.
He said: "If I told the truth at that precise moment, it would put my family's lives, my mum's life, my son's life, in danger.
"Just now, today, is the first time I've told anyone I knew what happened. I've got my son, my mum to think about. I need to get back to them, so I'm going to say it now."
He will be sentenced next Wednesday.