Knife attack victim still struggles to speak and is missing part of his skull Michael Callaghan says he will recover in time but his friend never will Zephaniah McLeod has pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to the manslaughter of university worker Jacob Billington (Image: PA) A man who was left in a coma following a knife attack recalled the moment he watched his childhood best friend stabbed to death in front of him. Michael Callaghan, 24, from Crosby, spent more than six months in hospital after he was stabbed in the neck while on a night out in Birmingham while visiting friends.