The final two juvenile witnesses have spoken of the moment they realised a schoolboy had been stabbed.
The two teenagers were the last of nine young people to give evidence at the trial of a 15-year-old accused of the murder of 14-year-old Christopher McBurnie, who was stabbed to death in Ramsey on May 29 last year.
The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admits inflicting the fatal wound but claims he was acting in self-defence. He has pleaded not guilty to murder.
The trial has been dominated by the distressing accounts from the young people who saw the incident unfold.
On Wednesday, evidence was heard from the last two juvenile witnesses
A police interview was played from the eighth teen witness who also watched the fight.
The boy said he had heard there would be a ‘two-on-one’ fight and decided to meet up with friends after school and attend.
His group met up with the others getting off the bus, which included Christopher, and headed to the defendant’s home.
He told the police officer: ‘It all just got out of hand.’
The boy said he knew the defendant and, having been told it would be a two on one fight, went down in case he and his friends needed to step in.
He said: ‘I saw the knife briefly and shouted “knife!”. I suspect it was a kitchen knife, like a steak knife.
‘I saw blood and a slice in Chris’s jacket.’
He said Christopher collapsed shortly afterwards and that many of those present panicked and ran away.
The final child witness also gave evidence on Wednesday after his police interview was played.
In it, the boy said: ‘When [the defendant] came out of his house he seemed confused and looked a little worried.’
He said Christopher seemed confident and says he threw the first punch but then Christopher came out of the garden and said ‘he has f****** stabbed me’.
The boy said he never thought any weapons would be used and said he ‘never thought [the defendant] was capable of something like this’.
Agreed evidence was also read into the court which included the initial 999 call at 3.31pm from a neighbour who told the operator ‘a young fella has been stabbed’ although the neighbour had not witnessed the incident.
The first police officers arrived at 3.36pm while paramedics and the fire service turned up five minutes later. CPR was performed on Christopher but there was no pulse.
One officer examined Christopher and found three stab wounds – one in his left side, one in his left bicep and a larger wound in his chest.
The court also heard how a doctor arrived at the scene and performed a thoracotomy – an incision in the chest – to relieve pressure. Sadly, Christopher was pronounced dead at 4.04pm.
The defendant was arrested a short time later at his home nearby.
The trial continues at Douglas Courthouse.