Steven Murphy, who was allegedly murdered in Fakenham

A Fakenham man was murdered in a savage revenge plot carried out in the name of family honour, a court heard.

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Three men appeared at Norwich Crown Court today accused of collaborating in the killing of 45-year-old Steven Murphy, who was stabbed at least 16 times in his King’s Road home on September 30 last year.

Andrew Cameron, 28, and his friend Alexander Dewar, 24, both from Blackpool, deny Mr Murphy’s murder.

The jury was told that Andrew Cameron planned the attack with his 53-year-old father James Cameron, but both men deny a separate charge of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.

Karim Khalil QC, prosecuting, told the court of a feud between James Cameron and the victim which began because they were both interested in the same woman – Julianne Dowling, who lived at Hamilton Court in Fakenham.

Mr Khalil said James Cameron had pursued Ms Dowling and that Mr Murphy’s friendship with her had led to a number of fights between the two men.

The most recent altercation had left Andrew Cameron with a minor knife wound to his hand and, during the resulting investigation, Mr Murphy showed police a barrage of threatening text messages he had received from him.

Mr Khalil told the jury that the father’s threats had eventually been carried out by Andrew Cameron and Dewar, who were both “strong men with a history of violence”.

“The two of them carried out a plan which appeared to have been hatched between father and son,” he said. “James Cameron had made it his business to pursue Julianne Dowling and obviously fancied her. Her friendship with Steven Murphy rather got in the way.”

Mr Khalil said evidence from mobile phone records, highway cameras, bank withdrawals and CCTV would be used to prove that Andrew Cameron and Dewar made a 500-mile round trip from Blackpool to Norfolk which coincided with the time of the murder.

Mr Murphy had a chequered history involving drug and alcohol problems in his former home town of Southampton, but had moved to Norfolk in March 2009 to “make a fresh start”, the jury was told.

The court heard James Cameron was a long-distance trucker who lived mostly in Scotland, but was based at Poplar Avenue in Felixstowe for his work.

The case is due to continue on Friday. For full trial coverage, see tomorrow’s EDP.