Dad on trial for murdering stepson; 9-year-old son is witness (Llanelli, Wales, United Kingdom)

Father WAYNE BOWEN is on trial for stabbing his stepson to death. Dad admits killing him but says it wasn't murder because of "diminished responsibility." He is also accused of attempting to murder his wife and stepdaughter. A 9-year-old son is a witness to the attack on the stepson.

And the Fathers Rights people tell us that only moms plead "diminished responsibility" and the like for child abuse and other crimes. Nuts to that.

Boy, 9, tells of knifing horror
Saturday, July 11, 2009, 08:00

A NINE-YEAR-OLD Llanelli boy has given evidence at his father's murder trial and described seeing him with a kitchen knife dripping with blood.

The boy's half-brother, 15-year-old Jamie Yeates, was killed by 42-year-old Wayne Bowen at their Grant Street home six months ago. Jamie died after being stabbed 18 times as he lay on a bedroom beanbag.

Giving evidence at Swansea Crown Court, the nine-year-old described seeing Bowen taking a knife and a baseball bat into the room where Jamie was sleeping. He then saw Bowen raising the knife and heard Jamie screaming, jurors heard.

Questioned over a video-link, he said: "I saw daddy's arm going up and I thought he was killing Jamie. I could not see Jamie's body — just daddy's arm." He then saw his father emerging from the room "with the knife dripping blood".

Bowen admits killing his stepson but denies murder — and the defence case is that it was manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He also denies attempting to murder his wife, 37-year-old Maria Bowen, and his 18-year-old stepdaughter, Kimberley Yeates, in the early hours incident on January 8.

The case continues on Monday.