A teenager accused of murdering Kellon Hill told a jury he punched but did not stab Mr. Hill after the two got into a fight.

Kellan Lewis claimed the violence flared after he called Mr. Hill's cousin a "sissy" as a joke, then made another joke about his mother. He alleged that Mr. Hill took offence and spat in his face, leading to a fight.

Lewis, the one remaining defendant of five originally accused of murdering Mr. Hill (see main story) took the Supreme Court stand in his own defence yesterday. The victim died of a stab wound to the heart sustained as he left a late night party at Elbow Beach last August 9.

Prosecutors allege that Lewis had a knife with him that night and used it to stab Mr. Hill in the chest and body.

Answering questions yesterday from his lawyer John Perry QC, 17-year-old Lewis, from Sandys, said he had no animosity against Mr. Hill who was "someone I spoke to." He later elaborated that he and the victim used to work together at the Southampton Princess Hotel and spent their lunch breaks together.

However, he told the court Mr. Hill was with someone named Diondea, who was not a friend and was someone he'd had "run ins" with in the past.

During the prosecution case, Mr. Hill's cousin whose full name is Jean Diondea Symons told the court that Lewis' friend Gary Hollis hailed Mr. Hill in greeting that night before Lewis snatched Mr. Hill's gold chain. He claimed his cousin chased Lewis and asked for his chain back but Lewis refused to give it to him.

Lewis, however, gave a different version of events when he gave evidence yesterday. He told the jury he was leaving the party when he saw Mr. Hill getting on a bike with Diondea riding pillion.

According to Lewis, he was standing on the side of the road when the bike pulled up next to him and he "hailed up" Mr. Hill. He explained this meant they touched their fists together in a gesture of greeting.

Next, Lewis said he "jokingly" asked Mr. Hill: "Why're you rolling with this sissy?" in a reference to Diondea. Mr. Hill responded: "He ain't no sissy you are." Lewis said he thought Mr. Hill was also joking so he responded: "That's not what your mother said last night."–According to Lewis, this joke of his did not go down well with Mr. Hill.

"He took offence to it and spat in my face," he told the jury. "I grabbed him in his chest area trying to pull him off the bike because he spat in my face... I cannot really recall how I was feeling, I just reacted... his (neck) chain came loose and came off."

Asked by lawyer Mr. Perry if he grabbed the chain to steal it, and if he ever took possession of Mr. Hill's chain, Lewis insisted that he was not trying to steal it and it came off in his hand, ending up on the road.

After this, Mr. Hill got off his bike and began taking off his helmet, while he backed off up the hill. He heard a crashing noise and looked up to see Mr. Hill hitting his friend Gary Hollis on the head with the helmet.

At this stage, he said around seven or eight people joined the mêlée, which moved towards where he was. He said Mr. Hill grabbed him, and he punched Mr. Hill twice in his head. Lewis told the jury that after this, he later found that his own neck chain had come off and he couldn't find it.

He continued that someone else in the crowd grabbed Mr. Hill and he went back up the hill. He told the jury he did not have any other contact with Mr. Hill that evening, and did not use a knife against him or see anyone else stab him. He did not see Mr. Hill fall to the ground or see him bleeding.

Lewis said he subsequently heard someone say "he's bleeding" and a lady say loudly "everybody go down to the beach." His friend Zharrin Simmons came up to him and grabbed him saying "let's go". He ended up down on the beach with Ms Simmons, Mr. Hollis and his other friends Devon Hairston, Kevin Warner, Jamiko Benjamin and Denario Tacklyn. They travelled back to his home in White Hill, Sandys, in a taxi cab, and all but Ms Simmons spent the night in his bedroom.

In his opening address to the jury on June 2, prosecutor Michael McColm alleged that Bermuda Institute graduate Mr. Hill was struck repeatedly with crash helmets and a wooden cane that night, and stabbed with a knife and a screwdriver.

Lewis, Kevin Warner, 19, Gary Hollis, 16, Devon Hairston, 18, and Zharrin Simmons, 17, were originally on trial jointly for the alleged murder, plus individual charges of weapons possession. Along with the allegation that Lewis had a knife, Mr. Warner was said to have had a wooden cane, Mr. Hollis and Mr. Hairston allegedly had crash helmets and Ms Simmons a screwdriver. Prosecutors claimed they all used these weapons against Mr. Hill during the incident.

However, Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons ruled at the close of the prosecution case that the other four accused had no case to answer. They were formally cleared of the charges over the course of Friday and yesterday. Lewis alone continues on trial, denying the charges against him (see separate story.)

Under cross-examination from Mr. McColm yesterday, he agreed that he and his friends drank Cockspur rum while travelling to the party on the bus, but he denied being drunk. Asked if people "took exception" to his behaviour after he arrived at the party, and if he said "someone's going to get beat up," Lewis said he could not recall either happening.

"You yourself had a plan to cause someone some harm that night, that's right isn't it?" alleged the prosecutor.

"No," replied Lewis.

"You had a knife with you that night, didn't you, stuck down the waistband of your pants?" continued Mr. McColm.

Lewis said this was not true.

Mr. McColm is due to continue his cross-examination today.