Gavin Moon murder trial: Jury hears of moment when paramedics found body

Gavin Moon, 31, was found dead in the kitchen at of a flat he had been staying at in Trafalgar Road, Washington, in January.

Prosecutors claim his housemate Luc Barker, 29, and Brian Goldsmith, 47, used a "large knife each" to murder him, a day before his body was discovered.

Both men deny the charge and are being tried by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court.

Jurors have now heard witness statements read out, from paramedics and police who arrived at the scene.

Paramedic Judith Alan, from the North East Ambulance Service, was the first medic to enter the house, with her colleagues.

She said in a statement: "I got out of the ambulance with equipment and walked over to the house.

"A lad outside said something like 'he's in the kitchen' and 'thought he was dead'.

"I entered the property and walked through the hallway and glanced to the right and could see into the sitting room. The room was a mess.

"I don't know if the light was on but I could see into the room and there was lots of broken glass and stuff all over, as if it had been trashed.

"I continued to walk through the hallway and came to the kitchen. I saw a white male lying face down. His face was covered by the hood of a hoodie."

The paramedic said she carried out some checks and established the male was "cold" and unresponsive and she saw what looked like a knife wound to his right side.

She added: "As the male was dead I did not move him and knew this to be a scene for the police."

The paramedic said as she was leaving the house, a police car arrived outside.

She added: "I spoke to the police officer who got out and informed him he was dead and I thought he had been stabbed and I began my paperwork."

The paramedic said she then went back inside the house to show the officer where the body, and the wound, was.

Police officer Michael Trainer said in his statement he asked the paramedics to leave the scene once it was clear the man was dead and carried out a search to ensure there was nobody else in the house.

The officer said he noticed signs of a "disturbance", with items, including the television, damaged or smashed and blood staining.

He said he then secured the house as a crime scene.

Police officer Claire Chapman said in her statement she arrived at the house shortly after Pc Trainer and said she spoke to Luc Barker, who was standing outside.

The officer said: "I was informed he was a witness and he had contacted the paramedics.

"I remained outside with Luc Barker. I asked Luc if he had contacted the paramedics and he confirmed he had.

"Luc told me it was his flat and his friend, who he named as Gavin Moon, who was currently staying.

"He said Gavin didn't live there full time but he was his best friend and he had a key to the property."

The court heard Barker had told the officer he had last been at the flat at 9pm the night before and had just returned home from a friend's house that afternoon when found Gavin in the address.

The officer added: "He didn't say which room he was in. He wasn't sure if he had been stabbed but stated the flat was trashed.

"He stated his TV and microwave had been smashed.

"I asked when he last saw the deceased alive and he said around nine pm last night, before going to his friend's house.

"He appeared to be in shock, he kept saying he couldn't believe it."

Jurors have heard Mr Moon had died within minutes, from a stab wound to his side which cut through his rib, liver and aorta in an attack at the home he shared with Barker.

Barker, of Trafalgar Road, Washington, and Goldsmith, of Wayman Street, Sunderland, both deny murder.

The trial continues.