Matthew Daulby jury retires to consider verdict in trial of men accused of plotting street fight

The jury has now retired to consider whether four men planned a violent disturbance before traveling to Ormskirk with Matthew Daulby on the night he died. Matthew, 19, died after suffering head and chest injuries when he was stoned and stabbed in a mass brawl on Railway Road.

The teenager was one of 10 men who traveled from Maghull in two cars after hearing one of their friends had been assaulted on a night out in the town. During a trial at Preston Crown Court, the men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed they were on a “rescue mission” to collect their friend. But the prosecution said they went to “revenge” their friend and planned a “fix” on Friday July 28 last year, Lancs Live reports.

The court heard that following a video message from their friend to boy group MRS Snapchat, a “blizzard of messages” ensued and the group met at St Gregory’s social club, known locally as “The Gregs”, and started with two cars. They parked on the edge of the town center and headed to the Alpine Bar, where they thought the man who attacked their friend was. A full-scale fight broke out when they ran into him and two associates on the Railway Road.

One of the Ormskirk men produced a knife and another, Henry Houghton, threw a rock in a stocking at Matthew, causing a significant incapacitating head injury. Houghton has since been jailed for life for his role in Matthew’s murder. Two of the Maghull defendants also suffered knife wounds, with one being treated in hospital for his injuries.

Matthew’s injuries were so serious that he collapsed in Moorgate and was pronounced dead at Aintree University Hospital in the early hours of July 29. After hearing evidence from each of the four young men in the bank, the jury must decide whether they formed a violent plan beforehand. leaving “The Gregs” or if they went to do numbers on a rescue mission. All deny conspiracy to commit violent disorder.