A COUPLE on trial for murder were equally responsible as their son who wielded the deadly weapon, a jury was told yesterday.

Prosecutor Tim Raggatt QC described Tracy and Paul Carpenter as the "helpers" necessary for the horrific crime to be carried out.

He said the wife made the phone call which took victim Shane Price and his parents to Hartlebury Common, where the 19-year-old was stabbed through the heart by Joe Carpenter.

And in his final speech at Worcester Crown Court, the QC said the killer's parents took Eileen Price and her husband Fred "out of the game" by attacking them and leaving Joe free to deal with Shane.

Paul Carpenter, 55, and wife Tracy, 46, both of Park Crescent, Stourport, deny murder and wounding.

Joe Carpenter, also 19, of the same address pleaded guilty to murder and wounding Eileen Price before the trial started.

The defendants claim the Prices, of Broach Road, Stourport, were armed and lay in wait for them in February last year.

Mr Raggatt described their explanations to the jury as "lies, drivel, nonsense and grotesque absurdities".

He asked the jury when they retire on Monday to reach guilty verdicts on all counts.

The QC said Tracy Carpenter was incapable of recognising the guilt of her own son - despite his guilty plea - and had displayed a complete absence of remorse for the death of a teenager.

He added: "She is almost more culpable than her hot-headed son who used a knife to cruel and deadly effect. She and her husband bear the same responsibility for the crime as the killer."

The trial continues.