Knife man jailed for eight years after killing love rival

The father-of-two, 26, was fatally wounded by Dylan Mark Slater in a violent confrontation at a house in Peridot Close, Blackburn, in the early hours of October 14 last year, Preston Crown Court heard.

Prosecutors say that six weeks before the fatal encounter Mr Grogan had attacked Slater with an iron.

Francis McEntee, prosecuting, said: "This is a tragic example of the catastrophic harm that can be done when young men, affected by drink and or drugs confront each other armed with knives."

Mr McEntee said both Slater and Mr Grogan had been drinking vodka and taking cocaine, at a house party, before they engaged in a play fight.

Slater had beaten Mr Grogan in the scuffle, in which the loser had to 'tap out', the court heard.

Afterwards Mr Grogan, despite others at the party attempting to intervene, wanted a 'real' fight.

The court heard Slater pulled out a flick knife, which he had brought with him, and Mr Grogan, in turn picked up a kitchen knife.

Slater responded by picking up a second larger knife, before householder Dylan Byrne attempted to step between them, said Mr McEntee, in an effort to calm matters down.

However both men lunged at each other and Mr Grogan was stabbed four times within moments, the court heard.

The fatal blow, said Mr McEntee, was plunged into his chest and went through his rib cage, puncturing his right lung and severing the victim's pulmonary artery.

An ambulance was called but Mr Grogan died at the scene, the court was told. Slater was not injured in the incident.

Mr McEntee said that both of the men had been in a relationship with a woman called Natasha Scott.

Slater had been seeing her for nine years and they had two children together, the court heard.

Mr Grogan's relationship with her was more short-lived but they had also one child, the court was told.

John Jones QC, defending, said his client had shown remorse in his police interview and had only been carrying a knife because he feared the victim.

Slater had also assisted police in finding one of the knives and had instigated an ambulance being summoned to the house, he added.

Jailing Slater Judge Mark Brown, Recorder of Preston, said: "There is no doubt that you went to the house with a knife.

"You were prepared to engage in a play fight with Mr Grogan.

"After he wanted a real fight you quickly had a knife in your hand.

"You were the first to produce a knife and it escalated the situation.

"Mr Byrne was trying to separate you but you went for Mr Grogan, as he went for you.

"You stabbed and slashed him repeatedly.

"Although he had a knife, significantly you had no injuries."

Slater, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, has 11 previous convictions for 14 offences, including an incident in which he broke a man's jaw.

Reacting to the sentence, Lloyd Grogan, Taz’s father, said: “We are bitterly disappointed they accepted a manslaughter plea.

"We are disgusted in fact. Taz wasn’t stabbed just once. He was stabbed a few times, once while he was on the floor.

"It hardly seems to have been an accident. It is just an absolutely cowardly act. It has robbed Taz from us in the prime of his life. It feels like a bit of a light has gone out in our family.

"In my opinion Slater is a coward. He has shown no remorse. This is a man who when he was arrested was waving and smiling to the crowd knowing he had killed my son. He has left several of my family in therapy.

“It doesn’t really feel like we have got justice or Taz has got justice. It feels like Slater has got away with it. The sentence seems disproportionate to the crime. He has robbed two children of a dad. That to me is worse than robbing a father of a son.”

Mr Lloyd said his family were united in grief and would never forget Taz. But he hoped they would be able to find some way of moving forward with their lives for the sake of his children and grandchildren.

However he said that had not been helped by instances in which the family had been up to visit Taz’s grave and found it had been vandalised.