A woman accused of murder "tried to bite her boyfriend's nose off", a trial has heard.
Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court were also told today, Thursday, that Gary Morgan said to a friend that Emma Walsh was "going to try and kill him" less than a month before she fatally stabbed him in the heart. Meanwhile, his cousin spoke of how she "didn't recognise" the deceased due to his injuries after one altercation between the couple.
Midwifery lecturer Lorna Gerrish was the first witness called on the second day of the trial, which opened on Wednesday. She said she had not seen 36-year-old Mr Morgan "too much" in the year before his death, but bumped into her cousin in A&E at around 7.30pm on March 1 this year.
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Her husband had injured his leg and was awaiting treatment when she saw her relative queueing to book in. Ms Gerrish said: "Initially, I didn't actually recognise it was him because of the injuries to his face.
"The left side of his face appeared swollen and bruised. There appeared to be puncture marks across his nose."
Mr Morgan told her "my Mrs has attacked me". Ms Gerrish said on the stand: "I was taken aback by that statement."
She had taken her baby with her to the hospital and decided to return home because of this, leaving her partner with cash for a taxi. Mr Morgan also discharged himself at this point and was given a lift to his mum's by Ms Gerrish as she lived in the same area and his "Mrs had his phone and his money".
During the journey, they "talked about life". Ms Gerrish recalled: "I returned him to that issue.
"I asked him did he recognise that he was in an abusive relationship, to which he said 'yes he did'. He told me that the abuse was physical, but also verbal."
Mr Morgan stated while in the car "she gets particularly nasty with her words". He also talked about how he wanted to resume contact with his daughter, and had been in touch with the mother of his child about this.
But he described how "his Mrs had been verbally abusive towards the mother of his daughter and that had potentially jeopardized that reunion". Of the incident which caused his injuries, Mr Morgan said "they had been out in town somewhere, an argument had taken place and he was attacked by her".
He previously had metal plates fitted in his jaw due to a previous injury unrelated to 31-year-old Walsh, but claimed "she usually goes for that". Ms Gerrish dropped Mr Morgan off and never saw him again, although she later received a text from him on his mum's phone to thank her for the lift.
She told the court that she had been unaware that Mr Morgan had been arrested on suspicion of assault following an incident the previous month, and had been banned from contacting Walsh as part of his bail conditions.
Next in the witness box was graphic designer Jason Keating. He had first met Mr Morgan, from Prescot, in 2019 as a customer of his paving business before they formed a "bit of a friendship".
Mr Keating last saw him on March 17 when he was "working on a house by Sefton Park". He described Mr Morgan as being "black and blue with lacerations around his nose".
The landscaper told Mr Keating that Walsh had "tried to bite his nose off and stolen his phone off him". The witness said: "He asked how I was, because I previously had a heart attack.
"I said 'Gary, don't worry about me - look at the state of you'. All around his eyes were all black and blue, all his nose was cut and scabby.
"He actually said 'she's attacked me again - she's a psychopath, she batters me and she tried to bite my nose off'. I said 'what are you doing with someone who tried to bite your nose off?'.
"He started filling up, he was getting upset. I could see Gary was physically upset."
As Mr Keating was leaving, he recalled saying to Mr Morgan "take care mate". He added: "As I walked away, he chuckled as he said 'I can't help it - I love her, but I know she's going to try to kill me'.
"That was the last time I saw him. He was the most gentlest, kindest person - he was a gentle giant."
When asked if he had been told of Mr Morgan's arrest and bail conditions, Mr Keating said: "Gary wouldn't do anything like that. He wouldn't hit a woman."
Meanwhile, steel fixer Lee Nolan described Mr Morgan as his "best mate". The pair met around 10 years ago while working at a firm called Penketh Fencing.
Mr Nolan recounted speaking to his friend on the phone on one occasion "to see what he was up to", but said he could hear a "commotion in the background". He told the jury: "I could hear her kicking off in the background."
Walsh was said to have shouted "who the f***s that slag", Mr Nolan having called Mr Morgan on his girlfriend's phone as his own had ran out of battery. Once in summer 2021, he had "came round for tea" after splitting up with Walsh.
Mr Morgan had a black eye, which he said had been given to him by his partner and was his "fourth or fifth". He also had a scar under his ear from "where she'd tried to stab him previously".
Another of his customers, Linda Turner, was called to give evidence this afternoon. Mr Morgan had carried out landscaping work for her.
He had been due to visit to price up the job on three occasions during September 2021, but cancelled as he said other work had been delayed due to bad weather. Mr Morgan began laying a sandstone patio at her home on October 18 last year, finishing just under a month later on November 16.
Ms Turner said of one occasion in late October or early November: "They were usually there first thing in the morning. It wasn't long after 9am, but it was a little bit late.
"Gary turned up, on his own at first. He just didn't look himself.
"I asked if he was ok. He said he had had a bit of bother over the weekend, there were some issues with his van.
"He actually looked like he'd already done a day's work, he looked knackered. He looked really low in himself.
"There was a difference, I noticed a difference in him. He didn't go into it immediately.
"He said about issues that he'd been having with an ex. He just said she'd attacked him at the weekend and she'd punched him with a knife.
"He looked quite tearful, quite vulnerable at that point. I said 'you don't need to put up with that'.
"He said 'hopefully they'll keep hold of her this time'. He said he'd had the police to her.
"He had a shirt on with no collar, and just below it you could see a line and another line below it - just about an inch each. I said 'you've got two marks on your neck'.
"I showed him in the mirror and he looked shocked. I said 'if that had been any closer to your neck, we wouldn't be having this conversation'.
"I put the kettle on. He said 'when I was supposed to come here the other week, I couldn't because I had a black eye off her'.
"He said 'she won't stay away'. He was quite a quiet, shy guy."
Ms Turner later learned of Mr Morgan's death while reading the ECHO at her caravan in Wales. She then got in touch with Merseyside Police to report the earlier conversation.
The final witness of the day was Diane Harvey, partner of 20 years to Mr Morgan's brother Paul. She described these two of six brothers being "inseparable", adding that they "came as a parcel".
Ms Harvey described "one incident" when Walsh was ringing Paul's phone, but he was "refusing" to pick up. She instead answered the call.
Walsh was described as speaking "angrily, aggressively" on the other end. Ms Harvey said: "She was just asking who it was - I explained that she had rang Paul's phone, then the line went dead."
She stated that she and Mr Morgan spoke about work "quite often" as she had offered to help him with promoting his business. Ms Harvey added: "There was a phase where he was losing work due to his home situation.
"My understanding is he was having difficulty accessing his phone in the evening. It just used to cause issues in his own relationship."
Mr Morgan once stayed at his brother's home following an "altercation" with Walsh as the police wanted to "separate the two". Ms Harvey said of his arrival: "He had bloodstained clothes and a big gash on his eyebrow, he said Ms Walsh had hit him with a spirit level."
They were "requesting he go to hospital because the cut was very deep, but he didn't want to". Ms Harvey said she had not been told of any injuries Walsh had sustained during the incident.
The witness remembered also seeing Mr Morgan with "black eyes, bite marks and bruising". This included one occasion on Father's Day last year, when the family were at his mum and dad's house.
Ms Harvey said: "It became more and more frequent. Gary lifted his top up and was showing me bite marks on his body, on the left hand side.
"I told him he needed to leave the relationship. I did say 'if you don't, she's probably going to kill you'."
Ms Harvey also recalled another chilling conversation with Mr Morgan. She said: "I did ask Gary if he wanted to be buried or cremated, because if he did carry on with Ms Walsh that would be the decision his mum would have to make.
"He promised me he was never going back, it was becoming too much. Two days later, he went back."
Walsh, of Lavan Close in Everton, denies one count of murder. The trial continues, and will now resume on Tuesday.
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