Man killed noisy neighbour with fish filleting knife
A man has been jailed for 10 years for stabbing his neighbour to death following a series of disputes over noise in St Helens.
Heather Dyer, 22, was stabbed three times by Paul Lyon, 46, in Chapel Street, St Helens, on 23 July, 2011.
Mr Lyon, who lived in the flat below the victim, also injured William Taylor, 25, in the attack.
He was convicted of manslaughter and unlawful wounding at Liverpool Crown Court following a three-week trial.
Lyon had made several complaints of noise issues with Miss Dyer and she had been served with an eviction notice, police said.
Lyon cited the history of noise problems as the catalyst for the incident, a spokesman added.
Fish filleting knife
The trial was originally started in January but had to be abandoned after Lyon was taken ill. It began again with a new jury last month.
During the first trial the court heard Lyon confronted Miss Dyer in the early hours when she and seven friends were leaving her flat, before stabbing her three times in the chest and stomach with a fish filleting knife.
When her friends tried to intervene, William Taylor was stabbed twice.
He survived the attack following a period in intensive care at hospital.
Lyon had called police to complain about noise at 01.54 BST but was advised to contact his landlord or the local authority and officers did not attend, the original jury was told.
The court heard Lyon claimed to be acting in self defence.
Det Ch Insp Richie Salter said: "This has been a difficult and protracted investigation and our thoughts remain with the family of Heather Dyer and with William Taylor, who was seriously injured during the incident.
"I hope Heather's family now have the opportunity to move forward and grieve for their daughter and sister, and that William is now able to fully recover and move on with his life."