ONE of the four people accused of murdering a man in Southend said he wanted to “have a word” with the victim days before he was stabbed to death.

Ian Slater, 50, who is charged with the murder of Courtney Valentine-Brown in February last year, gave evidence during the trial yesterday.

The 36-year-old died after being stabbed through the femoral artery in his leg on February 21, in Roots Hall Drive.

Slater and three others deny murder.

Slater told the jury he had been in a relationship with Kelly King, also charged, for a few weeks before Mr Valentine-Brown’s death.

Mr Valentine-Brown, along with Solmaz Sevket, was living in a flat belonging to King, and would often use drugs.

Slater said King wanted the two men to leave her flat.

He told the jury said: “She was becoming more dependent on it and was more scatty. She didn’t want them in her flat.

“I heard Solmaz threatened her on the phone.

“Kelly wanted them to leave but they weren’t prepared to leave.”

Messages between Slater and King in the days leading up to the death were read out in court, with King telling Slater that Mr Valentine-Brown and Ms Sevket “better watch their space”.

In one text regarding the flatmates, Slater wrote to King: “Whispering won’t get them anywhere when we come around.”

When pressed on what the nature of Slater’s planned visit would be, he replied: “I did say I could have a word with them and get them to leave.

“The plan was to knock on the door, talk to them and tell them they had to leave.”

In another text to King, Slater told her to “collect as many knives and nasties” as she could from the flat without Mr Valentine-Brown and Ms Sevket seeing, before he came around.

As an explanation for this, Slater told the jury: “I wanted to get everything that could be used in anger out of the way.”

The jury previously heard Slater had stormed the flat along with three others wielding weapons.

Slater, of Wayletts, Leigh, King, 30, of Howards Close, Westcliff, Stuart Pearson, 43, of Satanita Road, Westcliff and Alex Stephens, 36, of Hamlet Court Road in Westcliff, all deny the murder of Mr Valentine-Brown.

The trial continues.