A prosecution witness told a court how she saw a murder victim approach his alleged killer with “a very long blade” shortly before he was fatally stabbed.

The witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, testified on the first day of the trial of Jahmari Beach yesterday.

Mr Beach, 33, is charged with the murder of Daunte Woods, 27, outside Somerset Cricket Club in Sandys in the early hours of October 25, 2020. He is also accused of possession of a bladed article in a public place.

He has denied both charges.

Testifying via video link, the witness told the court that they arrived at the club with a friend at about 10pm on October 24 to attend a party.

They eventually left after volunteering with another friend to escort Mr Beach off the property.

They told the court that there had been an apparent altercation between Mr Beach and Mr Woods inside the club.

Questioned by lead prosecutor Adley Duncan, the witness said it was clear that Mr Beach was upset and she had agreed to take him outside to “calm him down”.

“You could see that he was a little irritated or agitated,” they added.

They said that while they waited in the club’s car park for Mr Beach’s ride to arrive, Mr Woods came out of the club and “mumbled some stuff as he passed”.

However, they insisted that Mr Beach had calmed down by that point and just wanted to go home.

Mr Beach, the witness and their friend then left the car park and crossed the road to a parked vehicle, although the driver was not there.

The witness said that while waiting for the driver, Mr Woods arrived on his bike with a pillion passenger.

They said: “After waiting outside, everything went full force. Everything happened very quickly.”

They said that after dismounting from the bike, Mr Woods and his companion approached Mr Beach.

Describing Mr Woods’s behaviour, the witness said: “Daunte was egging him on. He was saying slick comments. It was clear he was the intimidator.”

They said that Mr Beach did not react, adding: “He didn’t really respond — it was more a case of just brushing it off.”

They also said that they noticed that, as Mr Woods approached, he was carrying “a very long blade”, while Mr Beach had a fishing knife.

The witness will continue their testimony today.

In his opening remarks, Mr Duncan told the jury that although the law permitted the argument of self-defence, there were limitations if the defendant had initiated the incident.

He said: “When a person retaliates, you have a responsibility to decline conflict and not to escalate it.

“If you do not retreat as far as possible, that is another matter.”

Also testifying was Detective Inspector Dean Martin, senior investigating officer in the inquiry.

Under cross-examination by defence attorney Elizabeth Christopher, Mr Martin said he could not recall whether Mr Beach had spent five days in hospital immediately after the incident.

Mr Martin was also shown CCTV footage taken from outside a nearby store.

In one clip, an unidentified man was seen arriving on a motorbike, dismounting and then taking something from under the seat of the vehicle.

Ms Christopher asked Mr Martin if the item, which the man was holding in his right hand, was a knife.

Mr Martin replied: “No, I don’t see a knife.”

Mr Martin accepted that the footage was never “amplified” to improve the picture quality.

The trial, before Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe, continues.

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