A man's drink and drug-fuelled celebrations after a win on the horses ended with him repeatedly stabbing his housemate and hitting him in the head with a hammer.
Christopher Cheeseman binged on ketamine, cocaine, sambuca and tequila before brutally attacking his friend as he slept in his own bed. The innocent victim was left fearing he was going to die and suffered a fractured skull as a result.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Monday, that the defendant, his step-dad and complainant Sean Maloney lived in shared accommodation on Edge Grove in Fairfield. Henry Riding, prosecuting, described how they went out celebrating with a mutual friend on April 7 this year after he had netted a win betting on horseracing.
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The group started drinking in the afternoon before getting a taxi into Liverpool city centre. While there had been a "minor incident" between the two parties in a pub on Lime Street, they continued drinking together until around 9pm when they decamped to London Road for a takeaway.
Mr Maloney went home after this, but Cheeseman and the other mate continued boozing in a pub near the Royal Liverpool Hospital. They had 12 shots of sambuca and tequila each at a bar on Wood Street before the 29-year-old was kicked out by door staff due to his behaviour.
As the pair were walking home, Cheeseman began making threats towards the absent Mr Maloney. The remaining friend was so concerned that he called 999, but they were sent on their way after police and paramedics attended the scene.
Upon arrival back at Edge Grove, Cheeseman entered Mr Maloney's room. The third pal heard "banging, shouting and screaming" before the thug emerged holding a claw hammer and a kitchen knife and said he had attacked him with the former weapon and stabbed him with the blade.
He then handed him the implements as he wanted him to hide them. Mr Maloney later reported that he had been asleep in bed when he awoke to find Cheeseman standing over him holding the knife before hitting him over the head with an object.
The knifeman then proceeded to stab him an estimated 15 times. Mr Maloney suffered a depressed skull fracture and required surgery as well as needing 47 stitches to his head wound, but discharged himself from hospital on April 12.
Mr Riding said the motive was "clouded in something of a mystery", although Cheeseman had accused him of sleeping with his girlfriend a few days earlier. But he had later apologised for making the unfounded allegations and it "appeared that things were back to normal".
Under interview after his arrest, Cheeseman claimed Mr Maloney had "grabbed him and dragged him into his flat". He also maintained that he had only struck him with his fists.
A statement read out to the court on Mr Maloney's behalf said: "I was attacked in my bed by a male I thought was my friend. I was in genuine fear for my life, and I believed he may have killed me.
"I am now scared to even answer the front door. I seem to be looking over my shoulder all time time. The attack has had a massive impact on my quality of life. It is the mental scars that concern me more.
"I am always waking up in the middle of the night thinking about what happened. The fact that the person who was responsible was what I believed to be a genuine friend is even worse."
Judge Denis Watson KC then gave Cheeseman a ticking off after spotting the defendant smiling as he appeared via video link to HMP Liverpool, saying: "I have seen you as you listened to the prosecution try to conceal a smile, looking down. It's almost as if you are amused by some aspects of this."
But he replied: "Most of it's lies. It's making me angry."
The judge asked Cheeseman - who has seven previous convictions, but only one for violent offences - whether he had attacked Mr Maloney with a hammer and knife, to which he responded "yeah, in fear of my own safety because he attacked me first". However, he then apologised for his behaviour.
Louise McCloskey, defending, said her client has ADHD and has made recent suicide attempts while his mental health has been "impacted by substance misuse". She added: "What is obvious is that the defendant lacks insight.
"There are indications of remorse for causing the injuries, but he doesn't really appreciate the gravity of them. The injury could have been much worse."
Cheeseman admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent. He was jailed for eight years and handed an additional four years on licence.
Forfeiture and destruction of the weapons was also ordered, while he was told to pay a victim surcharge. Sentencing, Judge Watson told Cheeseman his actions had been "staggeringly violent for someone you knew as a some time friend".
He added: "You had drunk significantly to excess and you had also taken cocaine and ketamine. You have very little, if any, true recollections of the events.
"Your behaviour when threatening Mr Maloney, when he wasn't even in your company, was such as to cause your friend to call 999. The long and short of it is, the police sent you on your way.
"You weren't deterred from what you were determined to do. You got back to where you lived with him, you went into his own room and you attacked him with a hammer and a knife.
"You chose to attack him with not one, but two weapons. The severity of this attack means I am satisfied that you present a significant risk of causing serious harm to members of the public."
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