A murder accused said a man suffered a fatal stab wound after they “tripped and fell” over during a struggle over the weapon, a trial heard.
Robbie Smullen in accused of murdering 22-year-old Barry Dixon who died in hospital after being discovered injured in a Perth flat.
Giving evidence at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, Smullen said Barry had come at him with a blade and he grabbed his arm.
The 23-year-old said he “fell on top of him” and only realised Barry had been wounded when standing back up.
Smullen told the jury he was “terrified” and “panicked”, fleeing the flat he shared with partner Shannon Beattie without calling for an ambulance.
He told how he’d found Shannon alone in his flat with Barry, who was only wearing boxer shorts, and thought the pair were “having sex”.
Smullen said Shannon, 25, had went into the bathroom after he’d arrived home and didn’t witness the altercation with Barry.
His mother Mary Smullen, 46, was on trial alongside him, accused of pretending to police that Barry’s was stabbed by Shannon Beattie.
After her son gave evidence, she pled guilty to the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Judge Lady Carmichael deferred sentence on Mary Smullen. Both prosecution and defence are set to address the jury with closing speeches before they retire to consider their verdict.
Robbie Smullen faces a single charge of assaulting Barry in Wallace Court, striking him on the body with a knife or similar instrument, and murdering him. Smullen has lodged a special defence of self-defence.
Barry was found badly injured at a home in the flat in the Tulloch area of Perth in the early hours of June 4 2019 and died at 5.53am.
Giving evidence, Robbie Smullen said he and Shannon had argued at their Wallace Court home the previous evening after she’ accused him of fathering a child with another woman, which he denied.
After visiting his mother’s home then a friend’s, he said he returned to his home address at around 2am.
Smullen said he’d knocked at the front door after his key failed to work properly and Shannon let him in.
He said: “Shannon locked the door and she went into the bathroom.”
Smullen said he went into the living room and found Barry standing in its kitchen area. Describing Barry as someone he “knew of” but who wasn’t a friend, Smullen agreed with he was “surprised” to see him.
Smullen said Barry wore only boxer shorts and he thought him and Shannon were “having sex”.
Under questioning from his defence lawyer, Ronnie Renucci QC, Smullen said he was “upset” and “angry”.
He said: “I told him, ‘Get the f*** out of my house!”
Smullen said Barry was “just laughing” and replied: “I haven’t s*****d your f*****g bird.”
He said Barry “punched me” with his left hand and Smullen “threw a punch back” as he was “protecting myself”.
Smullen told the jury he noticed Barry had a knife in his right hand and thought he would “stab me”.
He said he “grabbed his arm” and the two men “had a struggle”.
Smullen said: “I was trying to get the knife out his hand. He was trying to stab me.”
Smullen said the pair both “tripped and fell” onto a mattress on the living room floor. He added: “I fell on top of him. Barry was on his back.”
“I realised I’d stabbed Barry after I got up.
“He was bleeding from his chest area.”
The knife was on the floor beside the mattress, he said. It was a “sharp knife used to chop vegetables” which came from the flat’s kitchen, he added.
Smullen said he fled the flat and ended up at his mother’s home. He said he was “upset”, “crying” and “scared”.
Mr Renucci asked him how he felt about Barry’s death.
“Terrible,” he replied, adding: “It haunts me every single day.”
Advocate depute Erin Campbell, cross examining the witness, asked him: “If Barry Dixon held a knife, you falling on top of him must’ve caused him to stab himself. Is that your position?’
Smullen replied: “Yes.”
Earlier she suggested it was “nonsense” that Barry “went for you first”.
Smullen replied: “No.”
Ms Campbell said: “You went for him first, didn’t you Mr Smullen?”
Smullen replied: “No.”
Ms Campbell suggested Smullen had the knife, not Barry. Smullen denied it.
The trial continues.
