Bath: Murder accused claims he was acting in 'self defence'

Ben Moncrieff was stabbed outside McDonald's

A teenage boy accused of murder pulled out a knife in a fight because he thought he was going to get "his head kicked in", a court has heard.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies the murder of Ben Moncrieff, 18, outside a McDonald's on Southgate Street, Bath, on 6 May.

The boy became involved in an argument with Mr Moncrieff and another man.

He told Bristol Crown Court: "I didn't drive [the knife] into his chest… he came towards me and it just connected."

Jurors were shown videos of the defendant, who was 15-years-old at the time of the incident, posing with a flick-knife which he said he had taken for Snapchat because he thought it would make him "look cool".

Taking to the stand, the accused told the court how he had taken the knife he was carrying off a younger boy earlier in the day.

Jokey comment

He said he had put it in his waistband to "prevent anything happening or any trouble being caused".

The victim, Mr Moncrieff, was with another man that night, the jury was told.

The teenager described how an altercation had broken out between himself and Mr Moncrieff when he made a "jokey comment" which made the other man angry.

He said: "I was thinking I could get myself badly hurt here, and I could get punched or knocked out, or get my head kicked in by him [Mr Moncrieff]".

Earlier in the trial, a McDonald's security guard said the boy was showing "threatening behaviour" towards Mr Moncrieff.

Mr Moncrieff died at around 03:30 BST on 6 May

Before the teenager started answering questions, the jury were given details of Mr Moncrieff's previous convictions.

This included a police caution for assault by beating of two police officers in October 2020 and a conviction of occasioning actual bodily harm and an offence of assault by beating in an incident in April 2021.

Describing how events unfolded, the accused said: "I asked him to come round the corner, as I didn't want Mr Moncrieff fuelling [the other man], and he put his hands up in a way to say he wanted to fight."

He added: "I pulled a knife out because I hoped it would stop him trying to come towards me and it would scare him off, but Mr Moncrieff was saying 'do I think that knife is gonna save me?'".

The jury saw CCTV of the incident and the events leading up to it, where the teenager lifted his top.

Not looking for trouble

He claimed this was because he had been "itching his chest", not showing off the knife he had tucked into the waistband of his shorts.

When cross-examined by Mark Cotter KC, the teenager insisted he had acted in self-defence.

He told the court: "I didn't drive [the knife] into his chest… he came towards me and it just connected.

"I wasn't angry, I was perfectly fine. I was scared. I wasn't looking for trouble," he added.

The 16-year-old is accused of one count of murder, which he denies. He has admitted unlawful possession of a bladed article.

The trial continues.

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