THE sentencing of a man convicted of killing a debt collector has been postponed because his co-accused will face a re-trial.
Scott Davidson, 23, originally from Elton, was convicted of murdering Boughton Heath man Martin Ithell, whose body was found shot and stabbed outside Blacon Police Station on March 11.
Following a five-week trial the jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Davidson guilty but could not reach a verdict for his former fiancée, 19-year-old Rachael Hanna Horton, who worked at Sleepland Beds in Deeside.
On Friday Crown prosecutor Michael Chambers QC asked the court for a re-trial of Horton, of Hawthorn Road, Little Sutton and for the sentencing for Davidson to be adjourned until her case was concluded.
He said there were still “particular central issues” which could affect the severity of Davidson’s sentence, such as whether he or Horton had stabbed Mr Ithell after he was shot.
Defence barrister Richard Pratt QC, representing Davidson, asked Judge Clement Goldstone QC to sentence his client immediately.
Mr Pratt said: “Mr Davidson has been found guilty by a jury. He as any defendant has a right to be sentenced as soon as possible in the interests of justice.”
However, Judge Goldstone said: “It would be quite wrong for him to be sentenced if there was a possibility no matter how slight of him giving evidence to a totally different effect than during this trial.
“In my view the paramount public interest is to ensure the defendant is sentenced on a right and proper basis.”
Davidson denied murder throughout the trial, claiming he had “accidentally” shot Mr Ithell acting in self-defence.
Davidson owed Mr Ithell £26,000 after loans swelled due to interest rates.
The defendant claimed he had planned to carry out an armed robbery using an imitation hand gun, later found at his home, to raise the funds to pay Mr Ithell.
But text messages during the trial showed how Mr Ithell was making several attempts to recover some of the debt and Davidson had arranged for the men to meet at the home he had previously shared with Horton.
The Crown said Davidson lured his victim to the house and had planned to kill him.
Mr Ithell, who had worked as a doorman in Chester, had bled to death and was found on the back seat of his BMW car outside Blacon Police Station.
Despite initially admitting to the stabbing, Horton, later denied it, claiming she had lied to protect the man she loved.
Horton is now due to appear in court on December 12 when a date for the re-trial is likely to be set.