Walkford murder trial: Teen tells court how friend stabbed victim Edward Reeve

A TEEN accused of murdering Edward Reeve told a court that his friend from Christchurch started stabbing the victim after a “heated argument” over a stolen computer.

The 17-year-old from Bournemouth said he saw his fellow accused grab a knife from a cabinet in Mr Reeve’s lounge and use it on the 35-year-old.

He said the teen, aged 16, then pulled out a “big knife” from his waist band and used that to repeatedly stab the victim in the back.

Giving evidence at Winchester Crown Court, he said the attack took place after Mr Reeve accused the Christchurch teen of stealing a computer when he was at the house on 29th December. He said he denied it and they had then “got into a heated argument”.

He said that after being stabbed with the first knife, Mr Reeve “picked up a dumbbell and held it up like he was going to use it, but having been stabbed that many times, he couldn’t”.

Asked by his defence barrister, Nick Haggan QC, how his friend acted during the attack, the teen answered: “Aggressive. I’d never seen him like that."

He said he had done nothing to stop the attack because his co-defendant had a knife and “he could flip on me” but he added: “I wish I had, now.”

The court has been told how Mr Reeve suffered a “brutal” and “unrelenting” attack on New Year’s Eve 2021 at his home in Heath Road, Walkford.

He was slashed across the face and received 12 wounds to his body.

The two youths both deny murder. The Christchurch teen admits possessing a knife and stabbing Mr Reeve but claims it was in self-defence after he came at him with a dumbbell.

The Bournemouth youth, who was 16 at the time of the incident, also denies carrying a blade.

He told the court that he had never met Mr Reeve before the night of the stabbing. He said he and the Christchurch youth had been drinking shots of Jack Daniels and smoking cannabis before they got to the victim’s house.

Three girls were also with them, but they left before the stabbing took place.

The Bournemouth youth said that after the stabbing he “grabbed” his stuff and left the house before the Christchurch youth.

He said: “I was shocked. I couldn’t process in my head what had happened. I knew something bad was happening and I didn’t want to be linked to what happened.

“I thought that would make me guilty because [the Christchurch teen] is my friend.”

He denied stabbing Mr Reeve or “encouraging” his co-defendant to attack him. He also denied telling the girls he had stabbed Mr Reeve. But he did admit telling a friend of the Christchurch youth in a phone call.

He claimed: "I was just trying to big myself up."

Earlier, the jury was told that the Bournemouth teen had two previous convictions of possessing a knife. They were also shown a selfie the youth had taken of himself holding a hunting knife.

Cross-examined by Kathryn Lumsdon QC, who is acting for the Christchurch teen, he denied he was lying about her client killing Mr Reeve.

She said: "The truth, as you know, is that Mr Reeve came at [the Christchurch teen] with an iron bar, didn't he?

"[The Christchurch teen] grabbed a knife to ward him off, he stabbed Mr Reeve and stopped him.

"You then armed yourself with a knife and set about Mr Reeve in the most vicious way, didn't you?"

She said he later boasted about stabbing the victim, saying he thought he “had come to rescue, that you were the hero”.

He said: “No.”

The trial continues.