Teenage witnesses have been giving evidence to a murder trial.

A 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Christopher McBurnie, who was only 14 when he was stabbed to death in Ramsey on May 29 last year.

On day three of his trial at the Court of the General Gaol Delivery in Douglas, the first of nine child witnesses gave their evidence by pre-recorded interview and remote live link.

The prosecution say that Christopher was brutally stabbed in a frenzied attack after travelling from his home in Castletown for a pre-arranged fight with the defendant, who he’d never previously met face-to-face.

The defendant admits inflicting the fatal wound but claims he was acting in self-defence.

CCTV footage has been shown to the 12-strong jury of Christopher arriving by bus in Ramsey with two friends. They met with five others at the bus station before walking around to the defendant’s home, joining with others on the way.

The first child witness said he was with a friend when they saw a group of about 10 youths walking together on the other side of the road.

He recognised three of them but didn’t know the others.

As he reached the corner of the estate, he saw the group gathered outside the defendant’s home.

The witness said as soon as one of the boys opened the gate, the defendant came out of his front door. ‘He was angry. He didn’t speak, he just went towards the guy,’ he said in the recorded interview.

He said Christopher had punched the other boy and was leaning forward with his hands up ready to punch again. The witness described seeing the defendant’s arm go backwards.

He said he didn’t see the knife. The defendant then jolted backwards, and went back a few steps, he said.

‘He looked really shocked, his eyes were wide. He looked like he was trying to speak but couldn’t say anything,’ he said.

The witness said the defendant had then turned round, opened the front door and slammed it shut.

He said the other boy yelled that he had been stabbed and fell to the floor.

The witnesses estimated that whole incident took only 25 seconds. ‘I was in shock,’ he said.

A second teenage witness, aged 14 at the time of the stabbing, said in his recorded interview that a friend of Christopher’s had messaged him about a fight.

His friend called later telling him to come to the defendant’s estate.

The teenager said when he got there he saw Christopher and lots of other people, and the defendant with his head around his front door.

He said Christopher had said ‘You come over here’ and the other had said ‘No, you come over here’.

They had both walked up to the fence and ‘smacked each other’, the witness said. He said he saw the defendant stab Christopher in the upper chest.

‘At first I didn't realise what he had actually done,’ he said. ‘It was horrible.’

The trial continues.