Neighbours of a dad stabbed to death at his home heard a man threaten to “get him” the night he died, a court has heard.
Darren Barnes, known as Riley, is on trial at the High Court in Aberdeen accused of murdering Robert Reid at his home in the city’s Arnage Place on October 26, 2016.
The 29-year-old of Don Place, Aberdeen, allegedly struck him repeatedly with a knife or similar instrument.
He denies the charge, and has lodged a special defence of self-defence.
Yesterday, the jury heard from two of Mr Reid’s downstairs neighbours, who said there had been a lot of “bumping and thumping” on the night he died.
William Mearns, 55, was at home at about 9pm when he heard noises outside.
Asked by advocate depute James Keegan QC what he heard, Mr Mearns said: “Somebody was at the end of the road shouting at Robert as far as I know, basically saying ‘I’ll get you’.”
Mr Keegan asked him: “What could you hear coming from outside?”
Mr Mearns replied “it was shouting back and forth,” between two males.
The jury also heard extracts of Mr Mearns’s police statement, where he told officers he had been sleeping and woken up by “loud banging and screaming” which went on for about 10 minutes.
However, he told the court that it was not unusual to hear noises and distrubances from Mr Reid’s flat.
Defence counsel Ian Duguid QC asked him to describe these, to which Mr Mearns replied: “The incident prior to that is he’d been up to the Grays Inn and took back a couple of Polish people and it all kicked-off and he came running down the stairs with a screw driver.”
“When he came down the stairs he was shouting ‘come on, come on’ and they were shouting ‘come on, come on’. He had a screw driver and they had posts from the garden.”
Mr Mearns partner, Allassandra Harvengar, who arrived home from work at about 1.30am on the night of the alleged murder.
She said she heard banging, like someone had fallen down the stairs, before Mr Reid called out “almost like a plea” as if he was “trying to get somebody to come back”.
The trial continues.