A HEROIN addict suffering from ‘abandonment’ issues killed his father by stabbing him in the heart, a court heard.

Daryl Sampson has denied murdering his father, Robert, after his father died in Crookbarrow Road, Norton, Worcester, last year.

The court heard he stabbed his father through the ribcage, punctured his heart and continued to attack him on the ground.

Tahir Khan QC, prosecuting, said the father, aged 63, and his son, 29, had grown apart since Mr Sampson separated from the defendant’s mother in 1990.

Sampson developed a heroin addiction in later life and the relationship with his father deteriorated further when his dad refused to pay towards rehabilitation treatment in Thailand in 2016.

However, Mr Sampson agreed to meet his son last November in an attempt to sort out their problems.

Mr Khan said: “He met his son to talk about their relationship. At least that’s what Robert thought.

“He didn’t know his son had come armed with a hunting knife. What he came for was revenge for what he perceived were his father’s failings and failing to be a good father to him.

“He was a heroin addict, he blamed his father for his problems.”

Mr Khan added that Sampson’s mum, Karon Thrower, his half-sister, Danielle Thrower, and his step-sister, Dominique Edwards, thought he had been damaged by his dad.

He said: “These women shared the view that Robert had abdicated responsibility.

“They firmly believe issues of abandonment had adversely affected Daryl’s emotional development.

“He was upset his father was not there to help him with his heroin addiction.”

The prosecutor added that Sampson had previously told his father’s fiancé, Deborah, that he hoped his dad would die.

The defendant also claimed his dad had a history of abuse in a text he sent to Deborah on her wedding day.

Sampson later called his father and asked him to drive him back home - as he was living away with his girlfriend at the time.

He had started injecting heroin and his family had become concerned for his welfare, according to the prosecution.

However, Mr Sampson, who had undergone heart bypass surgery after suffering two heart attacks, refused to transport his son due to ill health.

Danielle and Dominique then stepped in and drove Sampson back home to Norton, near Worcester.

While travelling home Sampson spoke to his father over the phone and arranged to meet him at a bus stop near his mother’s home in Norton.

When they met Sampson plunged a knife, which he had taken from his mother’s house, through his father’s ribcage.

He punctured his dad’s heart with the blade and continued to attack him on the ground.

The prosecution said one witness saw the defendant kicking his father in the head when he was unconscious on the ground.

Sampson told a police officer at the scene he had used the knife in self-defence after his dad punched him, the court heard.

However, Mr Khan contested that the defendant had not acted in self-defence.

He said Sampson described the blade as the ‘murder weapon’ when he handed it over to the officer.

High Court judge Sir Akhlaq Ur-Rahman Choudhury is presiding over the proceedings and Rachel Brand QC is defending Sampson.

Mr Sampson died on November 16 last year.

Sampson’s trial started at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday and is due to continue today.