Gale: It was self defence
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- Published: Friday, 21 April 2017 15:56
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Giving evidence at the trial of dentist Phillip Gale on a charge of attempted murder at Preston Crown Court, his wife told the court that her husband was ‘not a violent man’. She said: “My husband is a professional person. We had a beautiful home. I blame myself.” Mark Stewart, defending, said Gale had knifed Andrew Smith in self defence after a scuffle spilled into the hallway.
His wife, who goes under the name of Jayne Masters said that although their marriage had drifted apart and they no longer shared a bedroom together, she and Phillip Gale still lived as husband and wife. The Court heard that Gale returned from a trip to Blackpool at around 9pm on October 16 to discover Andrew Smith in the kitchen with his wife.
They had been drinking and taking cocaine together, despite Gale saying he did not want Smith in the house. Miss Masters said: “My husband didn’t like his lifestyle. He didn’t like his reputation and that is why he didn’t want him in our home.” The court heard Gale had found his wife and Smith asleep together on the sofas or in her bedroom on a number of occasions when the pair had been up drinking into the early hours. On another occasion he had caught the pair in the downstairs toilet together.
When Gale returned home on October 16 to discover his wife with Smith, the prosecution say he ‘flipped’ and plunged the knife into him. Smith said: “He went past me to the kitchen drawer and he picked up the knife and asked me to get out of his house.” He said he was leaving when Gale stabbed him in the back with the carving knife. But Mark Stewart, defending, said Smith was the antagonist and Gale had knifed him in self defence after a scuffle spilled into the hallway.
Gale denies the allegations and the trial continues.
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