A prison officer accused of murdering his friend claimed he feared that if he blacked out ‘he would end up being raped’, a court has heard.
James Johnson, 29, allegedly put David Toulson in a ‘deliberate and dangerous chokehold’ following his 40th birthday celebrations at a flat in Salford, Greater Manchester on June 25 last year.
He denies intending to kill Mr Toulson and claims he was acting in self-defence.
Giving evidence at Manchester Crown Court, Johnson told jurors that he met Mr Toulson a few months previously during a day trip to the Peak District with his friend and former colleague, Ellie Smith.
He claimed they ‘clicked pretty quickly’, reports Manchester Evening News, telling the court: ‘He was quite open about his sexuality as a gay man, he didn’t mention a partner. The rest of the time we were just having a laugh and enjoying the time. We got on. He was a nice guy.’
Another walk was organised with Ms Smith’s friend, Nikki Burns, and a WhatsApp group was later created.
Mr Johnson told the court: ‘We all got on, having a laugh and a joke. It was fun.’ He claimed he was aware that Mr Toulson created content on OnlyFans, and that he was shown a promotion of his account on Twitter.
When asked by his barrister, Richard Littler KC, if it ‘bothered him’, he claimed: ‘No, because technically, it’s his work. It doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t affect me. It’s what he does. There was no reason to think anything different of him because of what he was doing.’
Johnson claimed Mr Toulson would often make ‘sexual innuendos’ towards him and he would play it off as ‘banter’ or would ‘sometimes play along’.
Asked why, he claimed: ‘I didn’t want to seem like I was homophobic, I didn’t want to be that guy. I would acknowledge what he said but then play it down. Because he was a gay man, I didn’t want to offend him, I just wanted everyone to get on.’
The court previously heard how, on the night that Mr Toulson died, the group had arranged to go out for his 40th birthday and surprised him with a Bottomless Brunch drag event before going back to his flat.
Johnson claimed there were discussions about drugs on the taxi journey back to the flat. He told jurors that he didn’t want to take any drugs because they ‘didn’t need any’.
‘I have no idea how long I was blacked out. Dave was struggling underneath me and shouting ‘’Jimmy’’. Everything ran around my head: ‘he had apparently given me cocaine, the girls weren’t responding and the fact that Dave was dragging me to the bedroom’. I was fearful and thinking ‘’what is going on I have to try and gain some sort of control’’.’
‘I decided I would try and gain control because I believed Dave was going to rape me,’ he claimed.
‘I decided to put a chokehold on [him]. A guillotine chokehold, I think it’s called.’
Asked by Mr Littler why he would do that, he told jurors: ‘I had very little control over my body and I was scared I was going to pass out. I was trying to regain control.
‘I was scared if I blacked out he would end up raping me. I wanted to gain control of the situation and that’s what I thought was the best option, for me to do that. I wanted to make sure it was safe for me and the girls so I could get help.’
He claimed Mr Toulson made ‘’groaning noises’’ and was shouting his name quite a few times, before telling the court that he was ‘’possibly fearful’’ because of the situation.
Mr Johnson claimed he passed out again before coming to, but did not know how long he lay on top of Mr Toulson, or how long he kept him in the chokehold for.
He claimed he then saw Ms Smith walk past and ‘’felt relieved’’ before getting up and phoning 999.
The defendant told the court he knew Mr Toulson was dead as he could see he was not breathing.
He also claimed that he thought he had been given something other than cocaine due to Ms Smith’s comments to the police, in which she suggested she had been given ketamine.
He denied intending to kill Mr Toulson and said he was acting in self defence.
‘What did you think was going to happen?’ Mr Little asked. ‘If I wouldn’t have defended myself, I believe I would have been raped,’ Mr Johnson claimed.
When asked if he had any views on the case, he told jurors ‘just disbelief’, adding: ‘You can have a friend that would attempt to do something like this to you. It shocked me.’
Johnson, of Darwen, Lancashire, denies murder. The trial continues.
