Prosecution and defence lawyers in the trial of Jahmari Beach made their final speeches to the jury yesterday.

Mr Beach, 33, is charged with the stabbing death of Daunte Woods in an incident outside Somerset Cricket Club in Sandys in the early hours of October 25, 2020.

According to the Crown, Mr Beach had purposely armed himself with a knife before getting a lift to the club with a friend. Prosecutors further alleged that after an altercation inside the club, the defendant followed Mr Woods from the club patio and into the car park.

The dispute became physical just outside the club grounds, with Mr Woods receiving three stab wounds, one of them fatal. Mr Beach was also stabbed and his injuries required hospital treatment.

In testimony last week, Mr Beach admitted that there was a fracas between himself, Mr Woods and others, but he was not responsible for inflicting any wounds on Mr Woods.

His attorney, Elizabeth Christopher, argued that Mr Beach was trying to leave the scene to avoid a confrontation, and that Mr Woods was the aggressor — an argument supported by one prosecution witness.

In court yesterday, Adley Duncan, for the Crown, told the jury that Mr Beach had escalated the incident when he revealed to Mr Woods that he was carrying a knife.

He said that CCTV footage taken from the porch of the club showed Mr Beach looking “angry and agitated” after an initial verbal confrontation with Mr Woods at the bar.

Mr Duncan said: “We have heard over and over again that Dante was the aggressor.

“It looks like [Mr Beach’s] friends took him outside the club to get some fresh air because he was agitated.

Referring to a second confrontation between the two men on the porch, Mr Duncan said: “It was Daunte that kept the incident verbal.

“It is Jahmari Beach who introduces a knife into the equation.

“He had that knife in his hand ready to use it. It is the producing of the knife by the defendant that leads to everything else.”

Mr Duncan said that the jury should dismiss any thoughts that Mr Beach stabbed the victim in self-defence.

He said that great force must have been used to inflict the fatal wound, in which a knife penetrated Mr Wood’s breastbone before puncturing his heart.

Mr Duncan said: “If you accept that Daunte attacked the defendant, the law of self-defence is that you have to believe your life is in danger. Any response that you give to an attack must be proportional.”

He said: “We know that the defendant was angry at the deceased and we know that the defendant had a knife.

“At some point he had reason to do it, he had the weapon to do it, he had the opportunity to do it.”

Giving her closing statement, Ms Christopher gave a different interpretation of CCTV evidence.

She said that her client had repeatedly backed away when confronted by Mr Woods.

She said that Mr Beach produced his knife from his jacket pocket only because he thought Mr Woods was armed, and that the defendant never “brandished“ it, as the prosecution claimed.

Ms Christopher scoffed at suggestions that Mr Beach had deliberately taken the knife with him to harm someone.

“He opened the knife that he had which was a pathetic knife; it’s a pocket knife — it’s not illegal,” she said.

Ms Christopher said the footage showed Mr Beach leaving the club grounds only to eventually have his way blocked by Mr Woods and another man on a bike, who at one point hit the defendant on the head with a helmet.

She said: “My client says that he was walking away and the bike followed. To him it felt like he was about to be jumped.

“If anyone has any doubts, just check the video.”

Referring to his testimony, Ms Christopher said that Mr Beach had been truthful on the stand and answered every question as best he could.

She pointed out that it would have been “easy” for Mr Beach to say that Mr Woods had attacked him first and he acted in self-defence. Instead, he had testified that he did not think it was Mr Woods who had stabbed him.

Ms Christopher said: “My client didn’t come here to lie. He had been drinking and it was late but he didn’t try to make things up.

She also highlighted Mr Beach’s good character and that he had been a hard worker since the age of 16.

Ms Christopher concluded: “The Crown must prove their case. The defence has to prove nothing. You must decide so that you feel sure, or to coin another phrase, beyond a reasonable doubt.

“If you believe my client, you must find him not guilty.

“If you don’t believe him but something about his evidence gives you a reasonable doubt, you must find him not guilty.

“If you don’t know what to believe in this case, you must find my client, Jahmari Beach, not guilty.”

Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe began giving his directions to the jury yesterday afternoon. The jury is expected to begin it’s deliberations today.

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