Arklow man tells murder trial he was afraid of men with guns when stabbing victim

The trial of a man accused of murdering a man in a row over a bag of drugs has heard he told gardaí he stabbed him to stop him calling in some men with guns.

Darren Houlden, of the Crescent, Meadowvale, Arklow, Co. Wicklow, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Stephen Kavanagh in the early hours of May 6th last year. Stephen Kavanagh was stabbed forty times at Darren Houlden’s house in Arklow. The jury heard they had been taking drugs with Stephen’s girlfriend that weekend. In her evidence, she claimed Stephen got angry and upset when his stash went missing. She said Darren repeatedly denied taking it. She told the jurors she saw Darren stabbing her boyfriend. She described it as a 'slaughtering'. When Mr Houlden handed himself in that night, the court heard he was very upset and covered in blood. He told Gardaí they should arrest him for attempted murder. He told them he became 'angry and afraid' after Stephen told him some men with guns were going to take them up the mountains if he didn’t find the drugs. He said he only stabbed him to stop him making a second call to these armed men. He denies murder.