JURORS at the trial of a man accused of stabbing his grandmother to death have been told how he had a history of threatening her. 

Cameron Dancey-Stevenson, aged 26, from Helson but who is residing at Langdon Hospital, is accused of the murder of his 62-year-old grandmother, Alison Stevenson, at her address in Helston between May 24 and 25, 2021.

He denies the charge. 

Prosecuting the case, Tahir Khan KC told jurors that Dancey Stevenson had "entered her home in the dead of night and brutally killed her."

The victim lived alone in a terraced cottage in Helston and owned a care home with her siblings and was described as "a mentally strong lady who never turned anyone away."

Mr Kahn told the jury how a family member had become concerned when Alison didn't turn up to babysit her children and when they arrived at Mrs Stevenson's home to check on her, the doors had been locked from the inside. 

According to the prosecution, when a way into the property was found, Alison was found dead in her bedroom with repeated stab wounds to her neck area. Mr Khan said: "It was obvious she was dead."

Mr Khan went on to says that suspicions "immediately fell on the defendant" as he had "threatened her with violence in the recent past."

He went on to tell jurors that Mr Dancey-Stevenson was the subject of protection from harassment order, however this had been repeatedly breached with the defendant "going to her address and sending her threatening text messages."

Mr Khan told jurors: "Police and paramedics went to the bedroom. One of the paramedics pointed out a large laceration to the right side of her neck. Police asked paramedics to stay in the bedroom while they made sure the killer was not still in the house.

"Alison was subjected to a savage attack while she was in her own home. 

"The murderer clearly intended to kill Alison Stevenson."

Mr Kahn then spoke to jurors regarding Mr Dancey Stevenson's background and said that he had "struggled socially from an early age" and would have meltdowns as a teenager. 

Several weeks before the death of his grandmother, Dancey-Stevenson was arrested for a breach of the order and told police he hadn't realised being in his grandmother's garden was a breach. 

Falmouth Packet: A police cordon outside the property in 2021

While awaiting his sentencing, Mr Kahn told jurors that Dancey-Stevenson had spoken to his father, Justin Thomas, over the phone and told him "I'm going to f*****g sort her out when I get out." Mr Kahn went on to claim that "four days later, he went back to her house and murdered her."

Dancey-Stevenson was arrested on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, after a man matching his description was spotted in the area. 

Mr Khan said he had told police that his grandmother was intentionally trying to get him in trouble. 

Moving on to the prosecution's forensic evidence, Mr Khan told jurors that a knife was found in the sink which had blood on it matching Alison's DNA profile. Her DNA profile was also found on swabs taken from Dancey-Stevenson's fingernails and the defendant's DNA was also found on his grandmother's washing machine and tumble dryer. 

He also said that the defendant's fingerprints were found on the underside of the banister, but that his grandmother's were not, and suggested that Dancey-Stevenson had wiped the top of the banister but had been "careless."

Mr Khan then said that there had been a "clear surge in electric usage" during the hours between 2:30am and 5am, on the morning of Alison Stevenson's death and attributed this to Dancey-Stevenson using the washing machine and tumble dryer to wash and dry his clothes. 

Dancey-Stevenson claims that he was in the house when his grandmother died, but that it was an unknown person who broke in and demanded money before killing her while he fearfully hid in another room.

The claim is disputed by the prosecution who say that, if this had been the case, Dancey-Stevenson had plenty of opportunities to alert police and did not do so. 

The trial continues.