Robert Cerqua found guilty of murdering his twin brother Chris in Hythe

Robert Cerqua was today found guilty of murdering brother Christopher following a fight in Langdown Road, Hythe, on New Year's Eve last year.

• Audio - Listen to the harrowing 999 call

The jury of three women and nine men took a total of 15 hours and 52 minutes to find Robert, 31, guilty of murdering Christopher, by a majority of 10-2.

Robert Cerqua showed no emotion as the foreman told the verdict.

Over seven days of evidence, jurors heard how a scuffle broke out between the two brothers at their family home at just after 9pm after the pair had been drinking.

There was a tussle and Robert picked up a knife to stab his brother.

The court heard how Robert fled the house without shoes on and called his girlfriend Joelle Mansfield, who drove him to a New Year's Eve party hosted by his friend Lee Sillence in Abbotsfield, Totton.

Jurors heard his panicked mother Denise Cerqua dial 999 for police assistance as the fight broke out but the call took a turn for the worse as she frantically asked for an ambulance after their father Pete shouted out: "He's been stabbed".

Paramedics Benjamin Smeaton and Ian Hargreaves rushed to the house as Christopher lay fighting for his life on the kitchen floor after he suffered a 15-17cm stab wound to the abdomen.

Christopher Cerqua

They were joined by Mark Ainsworth-Smith, a consultant in pre-hospital care at South Central Ambulance Service, who saw Christopher was in a life-threatening condition.

Police arrived at the scene to help get a rapidly declining Christopher into the ambulance.

A code red alert was issued in the ambulance on the way to Southampton General Hospital to warn medics of Christopher's situation.

He arrived at the hospital but had already gone into cardiac arrest.

There he was worked on by the resuscitation team led by Dr Adel Aziz, a specialist in emergency medicine.

Christopher's chest was cut open for medics to gain access to his heart.

Despite being given cardiac massage and an injection of adrenaline in the ventricle of the heart, Christopher was pronounced dead at around 10.20pm.

The Knife used in the attack

A post mortem was carried out by Dr Basil Purdue, a Home Office pathologist. He told the court the blade went "right through" Christopher's aorta, adding: "It's an injury that is extremely difficult to treat and would needed to be treated very promptly to stem the flow of blood."

He told jurors it would be similar to piercing a garden hose.

The court heard how Robert made a 41-second phone call to the family home soon after he fled.

But calls to Robert's mobile phone made by Sgt Heather McNicol were unanswered and Robert turned off his phone.

He arrived at the party but was later tracked down to the address by police officers.

Arresting officer PC Christopher Jones found a drunk Robert on a stool leaning up against the breakfast bar in the kitchen of the address.

A video of body worn camera footage shown to the court showed Robert given his rights by PC Jones as he was arrested on suspicion of murder, but a drunk and confused Robert said: "Murder"?

He was taken in a police van to Southampton Central police station but fell asleep on the way.

Robert was taken into the custody suite but the realisation dawned on him as officers explained why he was there.

During the proceedings, PC Jones said: "At that point he seemed to figure out what was happening and he became extremely emotional and upset.

'He said "Is he dead? You're lying he can't be?" He kept repeating those words or similar to that affect.

"I escorted him to his cell with officers behind me, he said to me: 'Was it me, was it me? I can't remember, honestly is my brother dead?'.

The next morning Robert had to be reminded why he was in custody by duty solicitor Nicola Attwood.

From the outset, Robert told detectives he was acting in self defence and it was Christopher who picked up the knife, claiming his brother got aggressive and violent when he had been drinking.

He told jurors how he refused to give Christopher another can of Stella Artois and pushed the cans, which were in a plastic bag, under the chair he was sitting on before the incident unfolded.

Robert said his dad came in after hearing the commotion and split the cans, giving one to each brother.

But he told the court Christopher got hold of a knife and pointed it at him.

He told jurors: "At that point I thought I have got to get this knife.

"My memory is a bit hazy but we scuffled. The next thing I know I looked down and I had the knife in my hand.

"He let out a yelp. When he yelped that's the reason why he looked down and that's when I realised he had come into contact with the knife."

When Patrick Upward, defending, asked him: "It might be suggested you stabbed him in the abdomen to kill him or cause him serous injury, is there any truth in that?"

Robert said: "None at all. It was to stop him attacking me."

Rt Hon Justice Teare told the jury: "Thank you very much for your long and careful deliberations in this case. Your role in the case is at and end and you are free to go."

Robert Cerqua was then taken down to the cells by a security guard.

Cerqua, 31, will be sentenced tomorrow at 10am.