The former boss of a Holbeach factory worker has given evidence at the trial of a Boston man accused of murdering him.
Janusz Smoderek, 48, was allegedly stabbed to death by passer-by Stephen Sleaford, 38, after he went to help a lone teenage girl who was being ‘molested’ by the Polish father-of-three.
A murder trial jury at Lincoln Crown Court has heard how Smoderek went out drinking at a Boston lap dancing club and watched a world championship boxing fight after finishing his Saturday shift at Intergreen in Holbeach.
Toxicology tests showed Smoderek was nearly three times over the drink-drive limit when his body was found in Sleaford Road, Boston, the following morning.
The prosecution accepts Sleaford at first acted in a ‘lawful and praiseworthy’ manner when he and another man separated Smoderek from the frightened teenager who was targeted as she walked home alone at 4am.
Having intervened to help the girl, it is alleged Sleaford then knifed Smoderek in the chest as they wrestled on the floor - but the court was told Sleaford denies stabbing Smoderek and claims it was the Pole with a knife.
Intergreen production manager Paulo Olivera told the jury Smoderek would have used a ‘safety knife’ during his job unpacking flowers.
“Mr Smoderek was a table filler, that meant he was supplying the line with flowers,” Mr Olivera said. “We do use safety knives to cut the straps around the boxes.”
But Mr Olivera insisted the company had a strict policy on the use of knives and forbid any employee from using their own blades.
“No tools are allowed to be brought on the premises,” Mr Olivera added. “To get a safety knife it needs to be signed for and it is checked every half hour by the line supervisor and at the end of the day.
“Every employee is informed of this in their own language.”
Sleaford, of no fixed address, denies the murder of Janusz Smoderek on 11 September, 2011. The trial, which is expected to last four weeks, continues.