A witness told yesterday of how three men chased, cornered and then stabbed Jermaine (Red) Pitcher who died from massive blood lost after being attacked outside a Hamilton night-club.

Keniel Ingham, 29, denies the manslaughter of Jermaine Pitcher outside Champion's night club during a blood-soaked brawl in February 2000.

The two men originally charged alongside Ingham - Ryan Ball and Jamal Robinson - have already pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges.

Yesterday the victim's friend Kenneth O'Connor said Mr. Pitcher had become upset when he was approached in the night club about drugs and had to be calmed down. Mr. Pitcher's group left the club and three men approached Mr. Pitcher.

He said the four men began arguing and Mr. Pitcher was punched in the face.

Mr. O'Connor went to raise the alarm but returned to find Mr. Pitcher fighting the three men. Mr. Pitcher's brother Shane was lying in the road, bleeding from the mouth.

He said Mr. Pitcher was swinging a rope, with a metal block attached, at a man with a knife.

"Jermaine shouted for Maurice to get the car started and ran from them toward Court Street. The guy with the knife followed closely. They were running beside him, keeping him away from his car. Jermaine could not go anywhere. The guy was chopping him and Jermaine put his hand up in a blocking motion. Two guys held him by his jacket and his arms. He could not move. I saw the knife chopping him on the head and neck. After they got tired of chopping him they let him go."

Earlier in the trial forensic pathologist Dr. John Oladapo Obafunwa said the cause of death was a combination of Mr. Pitcher's chest cavity filling with air and massive blood loss due to multiple stab wounds, Dr. Obafunwa said.

Many of the wounds inflicted on Mr. Pitcher appeared to be defensive wounds, he said, adding he believed the man fought to defend his life.

The slashes, abrasions and stab wounds on the victim's body indicate he was attacked from behind with the apparent murder weapon - a machete more than 46 centimetres in length - and may have been held or restrained through the onslaught by a second individual.

Dr. Obafunwa detailed 19 wounds Pitcher received during the brawl prior to his death including a fatal penetrating stab wound which lead to the collapse of the victims left lung.

He also told the court that wounds received by the accused man, Ingham, during the brawl - which he read about in a medical report - could have been caused by the stabber, Ryan Ball, missing the victim and hitting a man in front of the victim, struggling to hold him in place.

And Dr. Obafunwa said that in his opinion a patterned wound across the victim's neck was caused by the zipper of the black leather jacket Mr. Pitcher was wearing during the stabbing.

He said it appeared the victim's neck was held against this zippered portion of the jacket with enough force to cause an abrasion where the zipper teeth pattern was retained and the hold may have incapacitated Mr. Pitcher.

The trial will continue today before Assistant Supreme Court Justice Archibald Warner.