A CREWE teenager is accused of murdering a man from Winsford with a large 'Zombie' knife.

The 17-year-old, who is not being named for legal reasons, appeared in the dock at Chester Crown Court this afternoon (Friday) at the start of a trial which could last until January 14 next year.

The youth, who was 16 at the time of the incident, has denied murdering Keagan Crimes, 27, at Cheviot Square in Winsford on October 12, 2020.

On Wednesday, the youth entered a not guilty plea to the murder charge while also denying three other charges linked to an incident on Sunday, October 11, 2020.

The defendant also denied wounding Jason McQuoid with intent, unlawfully wounding Dylan Munro and possession of an offensive weapon, that is a knife, all on October 11, 2020.

Mr Crimes, 27, died after sustaining a large stab wound to his chest.

Mr McQuoid suffered injuries to his chest and back, while Mr Munro received a stab wound to his leg.

Gordon Cole QC opened the prosecution case by outlining how the Crewe teenager had been in the Cheviot Square area of Winsford armed with a large knife along with four friends.

He was making threats of violence and the prosecutor said "intent on inflicting injury".

"He was intent on using the knife", said Mr Cole.

The knife was described as a 'Zombie' type knife by one of the other victims and, while it had not been recovered by the police investigation, it was visible on CCTV footage.

On the evening of October 11 a resident made a 999 call about a disturbance after hearing loud banging noises, a car revving and spotting figures running towards Castlemilk Court.

A PC attended at a flat in Old Spot Way at 9.10pm where he found a dog lying on a bed next to a spray can and the sheath of a large knife.

"There was no knife in it because we say the defendant had been on these premises and left with it," said Mr Cole.

CCTV stills compiled by detectives showed a gang of youths, including the defendant, trying to force their way into a Premier store on the square.

The series of stills was shown to the jury and Mr Cole pointed out that the teenager was carrying a large knife, clearly visible in the footage, while another youth had a bottle in his hand.

"He attempted to get into the store and he continued to strike the door. Another male was holding a hammer or something similar in his right hand. It is fairly obvious they were trying to get inside at two people who had gone into the shop," said Mr Cole.

Police trying to identify the youth with the knife were assisted, said the prosecutor, by a clip which showed his face covering slipping off. While the t-shirt he was wearing appeared to be the same as one on a Facetime call retrieved later by officers.

Mr Cole told the jury the stills showed the arrival on the scene of Keagan Crimes and the two other men who were injured.

The defendant had stayed in the area after the departure of his friends. McQuoid armed with a branch went for him and the youth retaliated with the knife.

"At that stage he could have left, he had ample opportunity to get away with his friends," said the prosecutor.

"He kicked out at Mr Munro and footage shows him trying to get to his feet. Mr McQuoid tried to hit the defendant with the branch, but at that point it is likely that Mr Munro was injured."

An eye witness dialled 999 to report what he described as a "large fight" going on near to the Premier store.

He told police he could see a group of males in dark clothing trying to get into the store and then another group of eight males arriving, said the prosecutor.

He saw what he thought was a large carving knife, at least six inches in length, being brandished by the youth who was hit by a branch before he ran into a kebab shop.

Some of the group of older men followed the defendant but he fled in the direction of McColl's store. At that point, said the prosecutor, he had the knife in an overhand grip with the blade pointing downwards.

"It was at that point he brought the knife down into the back of Jason McQuoid and Keagan Crimes came into view," said Mr Cole.

After Mr McQuoid fell to the floor, the rest of the group approached the defendant.

But the prosecutor said: "Keagan Crimes stopped walking and lifted his top, he had received a fatal stab wound which had punctured his heart."

Mr Crimes collapsed to the ground near the store, while the defendant made his escape across Bowland Rise and then climbed over some fencing to get away from a pursuer.

He rang his mother, who arranged for a taxi to bring him back from Winsford to his home in Crewe in the early hours of the morning.

Meanwhile, Mr Crimes was taken to the Royal Stoke Hospital where he passed away at 1.25am on October 12.

The defendant was arrested three days later and interviewed on five separate occasions.

The prosecutor said records from his mobile phone showed he had looked at a Facebook tribute to Mr Crimes and had made google searches relating to knives. On the device there was also an image of the murder scene cordoned off by police tape.

After he was released on bail, the defendant made an internet search for "blood wash off shoes", although his shoes had been seized at that stage by detectives.

Cheshire Police charged him with the murder of Mr Crimes some eight months later, on June 21 this year.

Mr Cole told the jury that they would be examining the prosecution evidence in more detail on Monday (December 13).

The teenager's barrister, Michael Hayton, QC addressed the jury, telling them much of the evidence would not be in dispute.

But the circumstances leading up to the disturbance in Winsford would feature heavily in the defence, he said.

"There was a prelude and the defence will suggest during the course of the trial there were incidents were threats were made towards the defendant's friends and group. That included violence and the threats of guns," said the Queen's Counsel.

"As a consequence the 16-year-old defendant made a poor choice and went out with a weapon to threaten people who were in the group known to him and frighten them off to prevent further problems.

"Confronted with a larger group of older males the boy sought to frighten them off and any injuries or consequences were as a result of self-defence."

The trial continues.