Harlesden stabbing: Murder victim was armed only with COMB during knife fight at barbershop, court hears

A murder victim was fatally stabbed in a barbershop during a fight over a debt when he was armed with nothing but a comb.

Crispin Siddon, 34, was repeatedly jabbed with a Swiss Army-style penknife by Anthony Allen, a regular customer at Cutz barbershop, in Harlesden , the Old Bailey heard on Monday (October 9).

The fight, allegedly over a debt, was caught on CCTV and witnessed by staff and customers.

Mr Allen, also 34, had produced a blade after he was punched by Mr Siddon on the afternoon of May 5, jurors heard.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said: "The confrontation between Crispin Siddon and the defendant was started by Mr Siddon, who approached the defendant in the barber's shop and delivered a punch to the right side of his head, knocking him off balance."

Mr Siddon had sought out Mr Allen and said, "Where's my money?", jurors heard.

Mr Atkinson said: "Whilst he may not have started the trouble, it was emphatically the defendant who finished it.

"He produced a folding knife, unfolded it and approached Mr Siddon with it.

"Crispin Siddon armed himself only with an 'afro comb' - a large comb with long teeth.

"The fact that he armed himself shows the level of threat the defendant suddenly presented to him.

"The defendant maintained the upper hand, making five swiping and jabbing movements with the knife towards Crispin Siddon - movements that were deliberate, and aimed with force towards Crispin Siddon's chest and abdomen."

Mr Siddon suffered a stab wound to the chest and died later in hospital.

Mr Allen, 34, from Wembley , also went to hospital with a cut on his finger and an injury to his thigh, which he told staff came from an attack in a park by an unknown assailant.

Mr Atkinson told jurors the issue in the case was not who killed Mr Siddon, but why.

He said: "The prosecution case is that those injuries were delivered by this defendant offensively and in anger - anger not least at being assaulted."

The weapon Mr Allen used, described as a Swiss Army-style penknife, was taken by the defendant to the barber's and was not part of the normal hairdressing kit, the court heard.

Mr Allen has denied murder and possession of an offensive weapon in Cutz Barbers on Craven Park Road in Harlesden.

The trial continues.

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