Court hears from Eteson: 'I looked around and I could just see them both there'

The moment a gas fitter found his partner and her daughter dead on their boat in the Lake District after succumbing to the effects of carbon monoxide, has been described in court.

Matthew Eteson, 42, is on trial after pleading not guilty to the manslaughter of Kelly Webster, 36, and her daughter Lauren Thornton, 10, by gross negligence.

Jurors were told that Eteson had fabricated an exhaust system for the petrol-driven portable generator used to power the mains appliances on the boat, moored on Lake Windermere, Cumbria.

The two were found in their bedrooms on the second-hand Bayliner 285 motor cruiser Arniston, after the outdoor generator was taken below deck despite carbon monoxide sensors being disabled.

Eteson, who had fallen asleep, said he woke feeling "something was not right" before stumbling down the stairs of boat.

In a statement read to Preston Crown Court he said:

I looked around and I could just see them both there"

Preston Crown Court heard that the family had been at a 50th birthday party in March 2013, before returning to their boat.

The following morning Eteson said he had felt sick and went to buy the family lunch from the chip shop before returning.

He said that Kelly had told him "I'm freezing" and the fan heater was put on at half power.

The court was told that Eteson, of Appleton Road, Hale, Cheshire, had fabricated the exhaust system with a silencer because it was "noisy" for fellow neighbours and had fitted it into the engine compartment.

Jurors were told that the generator was running as they ate their lunch before Eteson fell asleep at the table below deck.

Speaking about the generator during a police interview under caution he said:

It didn't sound like it was over-revving. I didn't know how long that was on for."

But jurors heard that when he awoke he "couldn't move" and initially believed he was having reoccurring problems with his heart.

He made his way onto the deck and said he proceeded to bang and shout for help but believed that Kelly and her daughter had gone shopping.

He said he could not remember if he turned the generator off then or later.

In the police statement he said:

I just knew there was something not right with me that's when I decided there was no-one about, I didn't know if they had gone shopping.

I couldn't properly move my fingers. I remember getting up there and thinking 'what's wrong with me'."

He said upon finding their bodies he tried looking for his phone before dialling 999. As the evidence was read a member of the public ran out of the courtroom sobbing.

Eteson too began to cry before being comforted by his father who has been allowed to sit beside him during proceedings.

The court was told that the carbon monoxide alarms on the boat had never been tested. During his voluntary interview in April 2013 he said he had been aware of the dangers of fumes.

He added that he had sought advice from mechanical friends and said the construction "wasn't something I took lightly".

The court was told that he had taken the generator off the boat to make moderations to it by fitting it with a silencer. He fitted the system the day before the deaths.

The case continues.

https://www.itv.com/news/border/update/2015-10-15/court-hears-from-eteson-i-looked-around-and-i-could-just-see-them-both-there/