Thomas Dures denies murder
A man accused of murdering teenager Matthew Daulby in a mass brawl in Ormskirk admitted to ‘waving a knife around’ during the altercation.
Thomas Dures, 21, said he had earlier taken the knife from Henry Houghton on the night of July 28, 2023. He claimed to have forgotten he had the knife until a confrontation broke out with a group of men, including Matthew, who had come from Maghull at around midnight.
When violence broke out on Railway Road, Houghton made a makeshift a cosh from a rock and a Nike sports sock but did not ask for his knife back, Dures told the jury. He described waving the knife around in an attempt to protect himself when the violence escalated.
In a defence statement dated March 27, 2025 – 20 months after the fatal brawl – Dures acknowledged he felt the knife make contact with someone, yet he was uncertain where or how many times it struck.
However, under cross-examination at Preston Crown Court, he said: “I don’t remember that, sir. I must have got it wrong. It must have been an error on my behalf,” reports Lancs Live.
He added: “I could have thought that I done something but clearly began to think again that I might not have done it.”
However, he said he had ‘forgotten’ to inform his legal team of the mistake in his statement.
Prosecutor Peter Glenser KC asked him: “Do you think it was you who stabbed Matthew Daulby?”.
Dures responded: “I couldn’t say, sir.”
Mr Glenser said: “Do you think that was the person you struck with the knife?”.
Dures responded: “Couldn’t say.”
He explained to the jury that his actions were in self-defence as he brandished the knife during the brawl, noting he spotted another individual armed with a knife during the altercation.
The fighters scattered when a police vehicle arrived on the scene, its blue lights flashing, just after midnight. Matthew staggered 150m to nearby Moorgate where he collapsed, having suffered a serious chest injury.
He was declared dead at Aintree University Hospital in the early hours of July 29.
Dures walked towards Triangle Park, where he discarded his blue and silver jacket and handed over a man bag he had been carrying to a friend. He denied suggestions that this was to evade police detection, claiming it was because he knew members of Maghull Riot Squad in the area and did not want to be seen.
He then went to the Railway Pub to wash his face of blood before heading to a retail park on Leyland Way, where he left the area by taxi. He mentioned the taxi had been booked by a friend under the name ‘Jack’.
He disposed of the knife near Stiles Bar and saw ‘loads of police’.
“I wasn’t thinking. I seen the police and I panicked,” he said.
Mr Glenser KC asked: “Why were you panicking? Because you had stabbed someone?”.
Dures countered: “No, because I knew I’d been involved in the incident.”
Dures, from Whalley Drive, Aughton, stands accused of murder, with additional allegations of violent disorder and GBH.
The trial continues tomorrow, Tuesday, July 22.