Walkford murder trial: Teen admits stabbing Edward Reeve 'in self-defence'

A TEENAGER accused of murdering a Walkford man has admitted stabbing him but claimed it was in self-defence after being threatened with a dumbbell.

The youth from Christchurch, who was 16 at the time, told his murder trial that he had argued with victim Edward Reeve (35) over a computer he had stolen from Mr Reeve’s house on a previous visit.

He blamed the fatal blows on his fellow accused, a teenage boy from Bournemouth.

Giving evidence at Winchester Crown Court, the now-17-year-old Christchurch defendant said Mr Reeve had picked up the dumbbell and started walking towards him.

He said he backed off before picking up a knife and “threatened him with it”.

The teen said: “He carried on walking towards me. I remember saying f*** off. He was slowly coming towards me. Once he got into range, that’s when I stabbed him.”

The court has heard that Mr Reeve suffered a “horrific” and “unrelenting” attack on New Year’s Eve 2021 having been slashed to his face and stabbed repeatedly all over his body.

The Christchurch teen said he had used the knife on Mr Reeve only three times and claimed the rest of the injuries were inflicted by the 16-year-old from Bournemouth.

Speaking from the witness box, the Christchurch boy said: “In the back corner he stabbed him in the face and hands, which is when he fell over.

“I remember him stab him towards the front of the torso area.”

He went on: “I just remember a slash to the face – that’s when Ed dropped the dumbbell and put his hands to his face.”

Cross-examined by Nick Haggan QC, who is acting for the Bournemouth youth, the teen denied he had “completely lost it” and stabbed Mr Reeve to death.

Mr Haggan told the defendant “You stabbed him several times, didn’t you? Then you took out a big knife that you were carrying in your trousers.

“You attacked Ed with a big knife with a shiny metal blade.”

The teen answered: “No.”

Mr Haggan said: “He fell over and you stabbed him on the ground. You went berserk.”

Again, the teen answered: “No.”

Mr Haggan asserted that the Bournemouth teen had not stabbed Mr Reeve at all, adding: “It was you who caused all of Ed’s injuries, wasn’t it?

"You just completely lost it and [Bournemouth teen] had just stood by and watched.”

The Christchurch teen said: “No, I’ve owned up to what I did.”

He admitted going back to Mr Reeve’s house in Heath Road on 3rd January where, the jury heard, he spent around 10 minutes.

The teen said he had knocked on the door but there had been no answer, and he denied going into the house.

The court has previously heard how Mr Reeve’s body was found “covered in blood” the following day by two friends.

The trial continues.