The jury in the Ice Queen murder of Tekle Zion Mallory must decide for themselves how credible each of the witnesses have been throughout the trial.

In his summation yesterday, Assistant Justice Archibald Warner said every single witness who had appeared in court and had claimed to be there the night Mr. Mallory was killed had given very different accounts of what happened.

He said it was for the eight-woman, four-man jury to decide which of the witnesses were most believable, and which testimonies did not make sense.

Assistant Justice Warner said only two of the witnesses had directly or indirectly claimed that murder accused Quincy Stanley (Jimbo) Brangman had had a knife on the night in question.

The remainder of the eye witnesses either said they saw no knife and no stabbing, or very little to do with the attack.

Sasha Richardson, who was 14 at the time of the killing, said she saw Brangman take a knife from a case on the left side of his body, and then run at Mr. Mallory. Soon after, she claimed the victim fell to the ground. However, she said she never actually saw the knife as he came close to Mr. Mallory.

And witness Lemuel Weeks, who was himself allegedly stabbed by Brangman, said although he did not see a knife, he felt a prick and turned around to see Brangman running away from him.

He said the accused then ran past where Mr. Mallory was standing and extended his hand to the victim's stomach, before running away.

In each of those cases, neither witness said they actually saw a knife at the crucial moment.

Brangman is accused of the July 2001 killing of Mr. Mallory during an early morning brawl outside the Ice Queen restaurant in Paget, when up to 100 people were said to be on the scene.

The prosecution has alleged that Brangman stabbed the victim twice in the stomach, causing massive internal injuries that led to his death soon after.

The defendant is also accused of wounding Mr. Mallory's friend, Mr. Weeks, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and of being in possession of an offensive weapon - a knife - on the same date.

Brangman, 24, of Cook's Hill, Smith's, who is the father of a young child, has denied all of the charges.

In summarising the evidence, Mr. Warner reminded the jury that Mr. Weeks was the only witness that recollected the events when he, himself, was stabbed in the upper back, allegedly by Brangman, in the Ice Queen car park. Nobody else mentioned that particular incident during the trial. And he said both Ms Richardson and Mr. Weeks had given very different accounts of what had occurred.

"It's been suggested to you that Sasha Richardson is the only one who mentions the presence of a knife and the only witness who speaks of Brangman having a knife," said Assistant Justice Warner.

"Let me say, you should examine this evidence very carefully. Let me suggest that this evidence may be crucial. Did she see what she said she saw with regard to the pulling of this knife?

"The question for you is was she a credible witness and was she a believable witness?"

The judge said no trial and its witnesses would provide a jury with a perfect account of what had happened, and said there would always be questions.

And he said the night Mr. Mallory was killed, a number of witnesses had claimed that the Paget car park was very dark, and there was confusion and lots of movement of the 100 or so people. Assistant Justice Warner said that would account for why witnesses were only able to account for some of what happened, however, he said those factors also had to considered when the jury was considering whether or not witnesses actually saw what they claimed to have seen. He said it was understandable for witnesses to be mistaken, and to have a certain amount of inconsistency in their statements and testimony, but said the jury had to examine those inconsistencies and decide whether they were credible and genuine.

The judge said while both key witnesses had showed inconsistencies in their own accounts, they had also stuck to many of their claims throughout cross examination.

Assistant Justice Warner will continue his summation this morning from 9.30 a.m.