Thug Guilty of Murdering Landlord after being Banned from Pub in Widnes

A man who stabbed a pub landlord eleven times after being banned from the establishment has been found guilty of his murder. 

Lee Abbott, 35, was convicted of murdering father-of-three Christian Thornton, 49, at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.

The trial that lasted two weeks heard Abbott was armed with a large kitchen knife when he arrived at the Hammer and Pincers pub in Widnes on August 11, 2019.

The kickboxer had seen himself from all pubs in the area for 12 months as part of the PubWatch scheme. Abbott had threatened to burn Mr Thornton’s premises down.

The jury were told that Mr Thornton was on the phone to police to report Abbott, and was then stabbed 11 times in 21 seconds.

Witness David Johnson told police: “There was no stopping him, he just ran like a mad man.”

Abbott was arrested roughly an hour later as armed police swarmed his friends house nearby. He told officers: “You don’t need any evidence, I stabbed him to f***.”

Abbott admitted manslaughter but denied murder, claiming he didn’t intend murder due to being intoxicated. The jury were told how he was sexually abused as a teenager by a gangster. Furthermore, his estranged wife, Kerri, told the court he would have episodes where he would ‘lose touch with reality.’

Detective Inspector Kate Tomlinson said: “Abbott’s actions that day have torn a family apart and rocked the local community.