Murder-accused Chelsea Powell tells court she did not see knife

Chelsea Powell told the jury she did not know Jake Hill hid a knife in a bush before entering a nightclub

A woman who is accused of murder has told a jury she did not know her co-defendant had a knife.

Chelsea Powell, 22, from Bodmin, is one of two people on trial for the murder of Michael Riddiough-Allen in April.

CCTV shows Ms Powell standing near co-defendant Jake Hill, 25, from Jubilee Terrace, Bodmin, as he hides a knife in a hedge outside the Eclipse nightclub.

She told the jury at Truro Crown Court she "didn't know he was hiding the knife in the hedge".

"It never crossed my mind," Ms Powell added.

"I thought he was just putting drugs in the bush. I didn't see anything because he had his back to me," she added.

Rugby player Michael Riddiough-Allen, 32, died after he was stabbed on 30 April 2023

Ms Powell said she had smoked cannabis with Jake Hill as a child, but she had not seen him for about 10 years until she met him by coincidence on the night of the incident.

She said she had recognised Mr Hill straight away and knew him as someone who used to regularly supply her ex-partner with cocaine.

Ms Powell said she "wasn't aware of any conflict at all" inside the club and that she, Mr Hill and friends had been getting on "really well".

She told the jury the night out had been a rare night off from her two young children, who were 10 months old and just under three years old at the time.

She said she regretted her decision to answer "no comment" in a police interview.

"I wish I didn't listen to the advice I was given [from a solicitor] and just went with my gut instinct," she told the jury.

Chelsea Powell and Jake Hill both deny murder. Ms Powell is due to give further evidence when the trial continues on Monday.