Man, 20, 'lost temper and choked out' dad following drunken row, murder trial hears

A murder accused son ‘lost his temper’ before ‘choking out’ his dad following a drunken row, prosecutors allege.

Joseph McGowan, 20, had been partying at his house in Stockport alongside his dad, Darren McGowan, and four others in May this year, a court heard. In the early hours of the morning, three people left the house after a row developed between the two men, it was said.

Prosecutors allege that Joseph McGowan ‘lost his temper’ and grabbed his 51-year-old father in a chokehold or ‘headlock’. He then called 999, and told the operator that he ‘wasn’t breathing’, before later telling attending police officers: “Me and my dad were arguing and I don’t know what to do. We were fighting and I choked my dad out.”

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Joseph McGowan denies an offence of murder and alternate offence of manslaughter and is on trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Opening the case to the jury, prosecutor Owen Edwards KC said: “We do not say that Joseph McGowan intended to kill his father. What we say is that he lost his temper and meant to really hurt him.

“We say he knew his father was drunk and in poor health and that he intended the serious harm that resulted from his choking action.”

Mr Edwards said that Darren McGowan was married to Angela McGowan, and they had two sons together, one of which was Joseph McGowan. He said that in 2022 Darren suffered from an aneurysm shortly before his business ‘failed’ and he began ‘drinking too much’.

The prosecutor said the marriage struggled, with the couple separating over short periods at a time. “Most of the time, it