Murder accused asked friend to buy knives online

Leon Penman, from Bedford, was stabbed to death in May last year

A teenager accused of stabbing a man to death has told a jury he paid a friend to buy him knives online on two occasions because he was underage.

Jacob Zuco, of Kimble Drive, Bedford, said he asked a friend to order a knife for him because he was "meant to be" 18.

He told Luton Crown Court he used the knife in a "tussle" with Leon Penman in March 2024 - when he was still 17.

The court heard Mr Zuco - armed with a second knife acquired the same way - was involved in another incident in Bedford two months later, which left 20-year-old Mr Penman dead.

Mr Zuco, who will turn 19 on 19 April, denies wounding Mr Penman with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in March 2024. He also denies the murder of Mr Penman in May 2024.

He told jurors, and Judge Michael Simon, that he had acted in self defence on both occasions.

Jacob Zuco told a trial at Luton Crown Court how he got a knife from a website

Mr Zuco told how he decided to start carrying a knife after being "robbed" in December 2023, but accepted it was "wrong and stupid" and that he had been "scared".

He said his first knife had cost him £50 but he was unable to buy it himself as he was 17.

"I got someone to order it for me," he told jurors. "I was meant to be 18 or older.

"I was not 18 at the time."

'Hunting-style knife'

Mr Zuco said he had thrown the knife away after a "tussle" with Mr Penman in March, but had asked the same friend to order another from the same place, also for £50.

He told the court that Mr Penman had pulled out a knife and tried to strike him during the March incident, which centred on the sale of a jacket.

Mr Zuco said that two months later - in May 2024 - Mr Penman had punched him and "run me over" with a car.

He said he thought Mr Penman was "going to kill me".

The court had heard Mr Penman died after being stabbed with a "hunting-style knife" which had a "serrated edge".

The trial has been told Mr Penman had convictions relating to drug use and violence.

At the time of his death, Mr Penman had been been serving a two-year suspended prison sentence after being convicted, in January 2024, of offering to supply cocaine.

The trial continues.