Prosecutors in the murder trial of a Basingstoke man told jurors how he allegedly stabbed Justin Green and later attempted to cover his tracks by hiding his clothing in the woods.
As previously reported, Samuel Dewulf has pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder of Green, who was found fatally wounded at his flat in Basingstoke on April 29.
The murder trial that began at Winchester Crown Court on Monday, October 21, saw the prosecutor Nick Haggan KC giving his opening statement to jurors on the second day.
The prosecution alleges that Dewulf deliberately inflicted a fatal stab wound to Green’s left thigh, severing a major blood vessel, leading to catastrophic blood loss.
"The conclusions that can be drawn from the evidence are clear," the prosecutor said on Tuesday, October 22.
"It was the defendant who stabbed Justin Green in the leg... In inflicting that injury, the defendant clearly intended to cause Mr Green really serious bodily harm."
According to the post-mortem, the wound penetrated Green’s leg from front to back, cutting through both the femoral vein and artery, causing profuse and ultimately fatal bleeding.
The jurors also heard from the prosecutor that Dewulf allegedly disposed of the clothes he was wearing during the attack.
Police recovered these items in Stratfield Road woods, where they found a black rucksack containing a distinctive blue 'Super Dry' hoodie, jeans, and other clothing.
Scientific analysis matched the DNA on the clothing to both Dewulf and Mr Green.
The prosecutor said that the discovery of these items strongly implicated Dewulf.
“You may think the obvious inference is that these are items of clothing that had been worn by the defendant at the time that he stabbed Justin Green.”
In his opening remarks, the prosecutor explained that the evidence against Dewulf was not only forensic but also came from eyewitness testimony.
Two individuals, Dean Caparn and Jonathan Hashmi, were present at the time of the stabbing.
Mr Hashmi told police that Dewulf acted aggressively and threatened to stab someone to show he wasn’t "messing around."
Moments later, Dewulf allegedly stabbed Mr Green.
After the attack, Dewulf reportedly fled the scene, leaving Mr Green bleeding profusely on the floor.
Despite attempts by Mr Caparn to perform CPR and contact emergency services, Mr Green died at the scene.
Toxicology reports later revealed that Mr Green had used cocaine and other substances prior to his death, but the pathologist concluded that the fatal stab wound was the sole cause of death.
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Dewulf was arrested later that evening at a property on Dollery Way.
He initially refused to speak to police, offering only one statement during his interviews: that the two men present during the stabbing were "both lying."
The trial continues.
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