Prosecution outlines case in Bath murder trial
16-year-old Mikey Roynon was stabbed once in the neck during a house party last June
A teenager on trial for the murder of another boy in Bath is expected to argue he was acting in self defence, when he stabbed a 16-year-old at a house party.
The boy is one of three currently on trial at Bristol Crown Court charged with the murder of Mikey Roynon from Kingwood, who died after being stabbed once in the neck on Eastfield Avenue in the Weston area of Bath, on 10 June last year.
The defendants are all 16 and cannot be named because of their age, so will be referred to throughout as boys A, B and C.
Previewing all the evidence the court is due to hear over the next six weeks, Christopher Quinlan KC, prosecuting, said the defence is expected to argue Mikey also had a knife and "struck out" with it towards Boy B during a confrontation, which then prompted the fatal stabbing from Boy A.
"We anticipate he (Boy A) will say he (Mikey) had a knife," Mr Quinlan said.
"He (Boy A) stabbed Mikey in the neck with it and therefore caused the injuries that led to his death."
"What we understand his case to be is that he was defending himself and/or others.
"He will say Mikey struck out with a knife first at (Boy B) and then him.
"To defend himself and others he struck out with his knife, stabbing Mikey in the neck."
The jury was told that trouble flared in the garden at the 16th birthday gathering, though the exact reasons why are not clear.
It is alleged the confrontation sparked as many as a dozen boys to produce knives and in the following moments Mikey was stabbed, before collapsing and dying a short time later.
The jury heard the defendants left the scene and later disposed of their weapons, two of which were recovered by police.
The first, which was found in a drain, was nearly 10in (25cm) long and scientists found Mikey's blood on the blade.
Boy A's DNA was "well represented" on the handle, which Mr Quinlan suggested was because he had used it to stab Mikey.
The second knife, which was recovered from underneath a hedge, was 7in (18cm) long and had traces of Mikey's "airborne blood" on the blade (blood that had travelled through the air) - meaning it was close to the victim when he was stabbed.
Mr Quinlan said Boy C's DNA was among a mixed profile of DNA recovered from the knife and its sheath.
"We say he (Boy C) had possession of that knife, we say it was his knife," Mr Quinlan said.
Mr Quinlan added that because it had splatters of Mikey's blood on it, it must have been out when Mikey was stabbed.
Boys A and B have both pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article, but Boy C denies the charge.
The prosecution argues he did in fact have one on him, partly because of the evidence mentioned above, but also because CCTV footage shown to the jury, of the defendants travelling to the party earlier in the day, shows a suspicious bulge under Boy C's trousers.
The bulge, the prosecution argues, was the 7in knife hidden under his clothing.
When arrested Boys A and B both denied murder or even having a knife in their possession on the night.
Boy C was first interviewed as a witness, but then arrested as a suspect several months later.
In his initial witness interview he denied having a knife or seeing Mikey get stabbed, but once arrested he said he did touch a knife that night, but that it belonged to someone else.
"When I was at the party, I was talking to someone and I saw he had a Rambo knife," he said in a prepared statement.
"He handed it to me and I touched it and I took it out of the sheath," he said.
"I didn't tell the police I had touched a knife because I didn't want to get into trouble."
Mr Quinlan suggested Boy C was using his prepared statement to "lay the ground" for an explanation as to how he was linked forensically to a knife.
The defendants all deny murder.
The trial continues.