A witness has described in the Supreme Court how he watched his best friend get stabbed in the chest in the midst of a fight near Horseshoe Bay.

Elijah Smith said that he, along with Jansen Smith and Kanye Ford, were confronted outside a party at the beach over a stolen phone, with the argument turning physical when Eze Hart struck Mr Ford with a bottle.

He said that in the ensuing fight, he watched Mr Hart stab Mr Ford twice with a knife before the latter fell to the ground bleeding.

“I saw it as clear as day,” he said. “I remember so much to the point I cannot unsee it. I think about it so much.”

Mr Hart, 22, has denied murdering 16-year-old Mr Ford in an incident in the Horseshoe Bay car park on September 9, 2022.

As his trial continued in the Supreme Court yesterday, Mr Smith said that he, Jansen Smith and Mr Ford arrived at the beach at about 9.35pm on stolen bikes — although he did not know who had stolen the vehicles.

He said that he knew Mr Hart, whom he sometimes referred to as “Ed”, from middle school and that they were greeted by one of Mr Hart’s friends when they arrived.

After some time on the beach, he said that he, Jansen Smith and Mr Ford were on a bench near the parking area when the person who greeted them walked in their direction with two knives, shouting about someone taking his phone.

“We told him we didn’t have his phone but around that time Ed and his other friends came up to us while were sitting on the bench with knives out,” he said.

Elijah Smith said that he showed his personal phone to the person shouting. The situation appeared to de-escalate, with Mr Hart and others walking away.

However, he said, Mr Hart came up behind Mr Ford while he was arguing with a woman and struck him with a bottle.

He told the court that Mr Ford turned around and began to punch Mr Hart, with the fight continuing on the ground.

Elijah Smith said that he attempted to pull Mr Hart off Mr Ford when he saw the defendant stab the deceased in the hip. He said that he kicked at Mr Hart, but retreated when he saw Mr Hart’s friends approaching holding knives and bottles.

He said that he ran a short distance away, but when he turned back he saw Mr Hart stab Mr Ford in the left side of his chest, causing him to scream and fall to the ground.

Elijah Smith said that he and Jansen Smith went to Mr Ford’s aid, with the witness taking his own shirt off to use it to slow his bleeding and called for an ambulance.

He told the court that Mr Ford said he loved them and began to ask them to tell his mother something before he fell quiet.

Elijah Smith said that he did not speak with police at the scene as he was focused on Mr Ford.

He admitted that he lied when he gave a statement the following day claiming he had not seen what had happened.

“I didn’t want to be looked at as a snitch,” he said. “I didn’t want to get killed. I don’t want my family to get killed. That night traumatised me and I fear for my life.”

The court heard from a forensic pathologist that Mr Ford suffered three sharp-force injuries in the incident, with the fatal blow puncturing his heart.

As the trial continued yesterday, Peter Lewington, a former police officer, told the court that he was among the officers who responded to reports of the stabbing at Horseshoe Bay.

He said that when he arrived on the scene, he saw two people trying to assist Mr Ford, who was on the ground with injuries to his chest.

Mr Lewington said that he watched as the men attempted to help Mr Ford, who appeared to be conscious but did not say anything.

While there, he said that an older man arrived on the scene on a motorcycle and said that the victim was his son.

However, after seeing Mr Hart, the man said it was not his son and left the area.

Mr Lewington said that after an ambulance arrived, he helped paramedics to put Mr Hart on to a gurney, at which point he said he saw the victim appear to lose consciousness.

Jason Smith, Acting Detective Superintendent, said he also attended the scene and subsequently went to the hospital to speak with Mr Hart’s family.

Under cross-examination by Charles Richardson, counsel for Mr Hart, he confirmed that during his conversation the family said that they had heard the victim had been stabbed by someone known as “Ed”.

He said that the morning after the stabbing he was called by Mr Richardson and subsequently Mr Hart’s mother about the defendant turning himself in, which he did that same morning.

Detective Sergeant Odessa Philip told the court that she was able to review body camera footage recorded by police officers who attended the scene.

She said that she identified the older man who attended the scene, stating he was the victim’s father, as the defendant’s father.

She said that while she was not involved in the initial police interviews with Elijah Smith or Jansen Smith, she was involved in second interviews with both men.

Under cross-examination, she said that Jensen Smith was interviewed at the victim’s mother’s home using a portable recording kit.

“When speaking to Jansen, we saw how he was,” Ms Philip said. “He was quite upset about the passing of his friend and we decided to do it there.”

However, she said the camera was pointed towards the wall because the witness did not want to be video recorded.

“We wanted the information he wanted to give us,” she added.

Ms Philip said that her second interview with Elijah Smith was not conducted until April 2023, eight months after the stabbing.

She accepted that the witness had said one reason why he wished to make a second statement was because of rumours that he was the culprit.

She told the court that while Jansen Smith had admitted that he, Elijah Smith and Mr Ford had arrived at the beach on stolen motorcycles, Elijah Smith had refused to say how he arrived.

The trial continues.

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