The Guardian takes a look back at the events that culminated in the death of James 'Jock' Straiton, on August 9, 2008, aged just 59.

Over the last four-weeks, jurors have heard from many witnesses about what happened on Friday, July 25 - the night Jock was viciously attacked.

Twenty-year-olds Joshua Spruce, Paul Blower and Nigel Goolding all deny murder.

• Friday, July 25, 2008: Spruce, Blower and Goolding attend a 40th birthday party at Winnington Rec. Blower’s best friend Tom Randles and his ex-girlfriend Lauren Randles are also there, along with friend of the group, Craig Douglas.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, 1am: Jock Straiton is woken by the noise of people leaving the party as he tries to sleep in his nearby flat.

• He shouts for people to keep the noise down.

• Tom Randles, angry after a row with sister Lauren, jumps over the fence and into the garden of the flats to confront Jock at his window.

• He is joined by Blower and Spruce but their roles are unclear. The prosecution say they were threatening Mr Straiton and inviting him out to fight, but the defence claim each was acting as a peacekeeper, with Blower’s barristers arguing he got hold of Tom Randles and walked him away.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, 1.11am: The first call is made to police by one of Jock’s neighbours complaining about the noise and shouting. Several emergency calls are made throughout the incident by other residents and Mr Straiton himself, who is told the police are too busy to attend.

• Christina Beadles and her partner Stephen Moores, who live above Mr Straiton, are woken by the noise and recognise Blower’s voice.

• An argument erupts between Blower and Mr Moores, who throws objects out of his window but ultimately ends up with a smashed bedroom window.

• Blower and Spruce walk off with Lauren Randles, who has been throwing up nearby, and Craig Douglas, who said he was texting a girl from college throughout, although the defence say telephone records do not support his account.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, 1.18am: Nigel Goolding calls Blower and Spruce and returns to the scene, having set off home with someone else from the party.

• A neighbour sees Mr Straiton walk past his window. Having decided to confront the men, he has armed himself with a hammer.

• A violent attack takes place.

• The prosecution say the three defendants acted together to give Mr Straiton a ‘good hiding’. But Spruce says he punched Jock in self-defence and kicked his hand as he lay on the floor to disarm him; Blower says he was not involved and Goolding says he punched once, again in self-defence.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, approximately 1.30am: Motorist Philip Howarth sees two men standing over Jock, and a third emerge from the shadows and jump two-footed onto his head. The prosecution say this was Paul Blower, the defence say it could have been Craig Douglas based on the description.

• A neighbour confronts Jock’s attackers who head off up Winnington Lane.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, 1.33am: Jock is helped into a folding camping chair to wait for the ambulance. He is alert and refusing to go to hospital, but has two black eyes and is bleeding from his mouth and nose.

• Paramedics spot a boot print on Mr Straiton’s head and eventually convince him to go with them.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, 2.15am: Spruce’s next-door neighbour Michelle Wilkinson says she overheard him talking on his mobile saying he had badly beaten someone who came at him with a hammer.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, 2.40am: Mr Straiton is admitted to Leighton Hospital having vomited three-times. He feels nauseas and is complaining of headaches but is otherwise awake and coherent.

• His condition quickly deteriorates and he suffers a cardiac arrest. He is resuscitated and taken for a CT scan, which reveals a large brain injury.

• He is transferred to North Staffordshire Hospital for emergency surgery to remove a four-inch by three-inch piece of skull to relieve the pressure on his brain.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, 3.55am: Spruce is arrested at his home in Alderley Road in Winnington. His mobile phone and clothes are taken away for forensic examination.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, 12.35pm: Blower is arrested at a friend's house in Cromwell Road.

• Saturday, July 26, 2008, 3.25pm: Goolding is arrested at Moss Farm Leisure Centre, where he is about to take part in a cricket match with Northwich Cricket Club.

• Saturday, July 26 and Sunday, July 27: Goolding gives 'no comment' replies in his police interview. Spruce and Blower blame each other for the attack.

• Sunday, July 27: Following surgery, Mr Straiton is sedated and put on life support. A scan shows he has suffered fractures to his nose, cheek, skull, upper arm and ribs.

• Monday, July 28: The defendants appear at Vale Royal Magistrates’ Court charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. No plea is entered and all three are remanded into custody.

• Tuesday, August 5: A tube is inserted into Mr Straiton’s throat to help wean him off the ventilator.

Saturday, August 9, 2008: He develops a ‘torrential’ bleed from the site of the tube and suffers another cardiac arrest and dies.

• Blower, Spruce, Goolding are charged with murder. All three deny the allegation and a trial is scheduled for February 24, 2009.