James Brindley murder trial: Teen accused of fatal stabbing was 'defending himself from attack', court hears

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murdering James Brindley within 35 seconds of meeting at an Aldridge park.

Taking the stand on Thursday, the youth said he only brandished the blade after fearing Mr Brindley would injure him.

He said: “I was terrified, I was scared.”

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The teenager and co-accused Aaron Kahrod, 21, both deny murdering Mr Brindley on June 24 last year.

Giving evidence at Birmingham Crown Court, the youth said he had walked to The Croft park with Kahrod before vaping on a bench just after 11pm.

He recalled spotting Mr Brindley walking into the green space, believing he was on the phone to his girlfriend.

The defendant said: “He had a raised voice. I said ‘are you having girl problems mate, sort your girl out’. It was intended as a joke.”

Karate kick

An ‘angry looking’ Brindley then came at the pair aggressively, before launching a karate-style kick at them, the teenager claimed.The youth said Mr Brindley then grabbed him by the jacket and tried to swing him around, but he managed to push away.

He pulled the blade out of his bag, brandishing it in front of him as Mr Brindley came running at him, he said.

The teenager added: “Everything just paused and then we both started to run away. Mr Brindley ran off and he was on his phone.”

Defence barrister Mr Andrew Smith asked: “Why did you want to get the knife out of the bag?”

The teenager replied: “To defend myself and to prevent further attack. I thought that when he saw it, he would back away so I could back away as well.”

The youth went on to say he did not intend to injure Mr Brindley and was unaware the blade had punctured his skin before the defendants fled.

During the trial, jurors were told Mr Brindley was pronounced dead just after 1am after medics performed open heart surgery in the town’s High Street - about 100m from where he was stabbed.

The trial continues.