Manslaughter accused Keniel Ingham testified in Supreme Court yesterday that he acted only out of self defence in the bloody fight which led to the death of Jermaine Pitcher last year.

Ingham said that he did not see Mr. Pitcher get stabbed nor did he know how he himself came to be stabbed over the course of a brawl outside Champion's night club on Reid Street on February 27, 2000.

And he looked the jury in the eyes - on instructions from defence attorney Venous Telford - and told them, he did not hold Mr. Pitcher so another man could stab him.

Ingham added: "I would never do that to anybody."

Ingham, 29, of Rocklands Estate, Warwick, denies that he killed Mr. Pitcher with Ryan Ball and Jamal Robinson. Both Ball and Robinson have pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges.

Ball claimed responsibility for stabbing Mr. Pitcher - in a manner described by an Ingham trial witnesses as "frantic" - eventually piercing his left lung and leading to massive blood loss.

Yesterday, Ingham told the court that he went to Champion's night club with Robinson and Ball after visiting the Spinning Wheel bar and the trio had arranged to meet a number of women at the club.

While there was some incident within the club that led to the lights being turned on, Ingham said he wasn't paying attention because he was enjoying himself.

When the club closed, he left with Ball - who was driving - and Robinson.

Ingham said he followed the two men down the stairs to Reid Street.

"As soon as I stepped out of the club the atmosphere was off," he said. "I could tell something was wrong.

"I could see Tiger (Ball) arguing with a light-skinned guy about five feet in front of me. I started to go toward the argument and somebody came toward me and knocked me blindside. I lost my balance and was knocked to the ground."

Ingham claims he then scuffled with this man - Shane Fox - on the ground. When he struggled to his feet, he said he kicked and punched Fox to subdue him and eventually Fox fell to the ground and the fight stopped.

"I never saw him before and I didn't know who he was," he said, although he later learned it was Fox. "At this point I was extremely vexed as someone had put their hands on me."

Ingham told the court he started picking up his belongings which had fallen onto the road during the struggle. "I could see something was happening a little way up the street," he said.

"I started to look that way and took a few steps when I saw a yellow-skinned man skipping around and swinging some sort of weapon around his head. He was looking directly at me and coming at me with his weapon."

Ingham said the man (who he later learned was Mr. Pitcher) was wielding the weapon - a piece of knotted rope with a chunk of metal lock attached to the end - in martial arts fashion "like he had practised with it".

He was hit in the face before he rushed Pitcher, pinning his arms with a bear hug, Ingham told the court.

"I had to defend myself," he said. "There was no way I was going to let him continue to hit me with it. I just stayed as close to him as possible and hung on to him the best way I could."

Ingham said the two stayed like that for a couple of seconds.

"I was a bit stunned and dazed. I didn't know to what extent I was really injured.

"Out of nowhere all sorts of licks came down on top of me. Something glanced across my head and there was a loud bang. Something came down with force on my arm.

"That's when I decided it was too much for me to handle and ran away."

Ingham says he staggered across the street where he realised his left forearm was slashed across the top.

Robinson came to him and told him he was also bleeding from the rear but Ingham said he didn't want to look at the wound and did not learn he had been stabbed in the left hip until he got to the hospital where he was told he knife had gone through his front hip and out the back.

When he crossed the road there was still a commotion on the other side, he said, but he could not see what was happening. The crowd started to scatter and he saw Ball run to his car.

Robinson then helped Ingham into the car but Police had arrived on the scene and told the men to get out of the car. They did and both Ball and Ingham collapsed on the sidewalk.

Defence attorney Venous Telford asked the accused man if he knew Ball had a knife and was going to use it on Mr. Pitcher.

"I lost track of Ryan Ball," he said again looking directly at the six-man, six-woman jury. "I never knew he had a knife or anything like that. It was completely beyond my control."

"Did you at any time while defending yourself against Mr. Pitcher realise Ryan Ball may have used a knife," asked Ms Telford.

"I was caught up in defending myself at the time. When the blows came down it was completely out of the blue. I couldn't tell what anyone else was doing at that time," Ingham replied.

But on cross examination, Ingham admitted to Prosecutor Dorien Taylor that he had been restraining Mr. Pitcher and that it was possible that the victim was stabbed during that time.

Mr. Taylor asked Ingham if he had considered running away or running to the Police Station down the street to get out of harm's way but the defendant said he had not and that everything had happened too quickly.

Ingham was also asked if he could explain why Pitcher's blood was found on his shoe, as the court heard last week from a Canadian blood splatter expert.

"I don't know how Mr. Pitcher's blood got there but I can recall the expert saying it came directly from Mr. Pitcher's body or from an object bearing Mr. Pitcher's blood. So, it's a mystery to me," he replied.

Ingham said repeatedly he did not see Mr. Pitcher get stabbed nor know how he came to be stabbed as well.

"Once you had Red Pitcher in the bear hug and he was being stabbed it's possible his blood could have dropped on your shoes," said Mr. Taylor. "I suggest to you that is exactly what happened.

"It's still not my fault," replied Ingham. "It's possible but I don't know what happened. I wasn't paying attention."