A MAN accused of murder says a second knife was involved on the night that 18-year-old Cameron Hamilton was fatally stabbed.
While an additional blade was recovered by police, a detective on the case said a second knife was not visible in the CCTV footage of the incident.
The ‘distressingly clear’ footage was shared with a jury at Bournemouth Crown Court, where Thomas Betteridge and Lennie Hansen are facing trial over Mr Hamilton’s death.
As reported, Mr Hamilton and his friends were involved in a fight with the two defendants in Bournemouth Square during the early hours of August 5, 2023.
Betteridge tried to run away from the altercation, but was chased through the Square by Mr Hamilton and two of his male friends.
After a short pursuit, Betteridge slowed and turned to face Mr Hamilton, before fatally stabbing him three times.
Defence barristers are claiming Betteridge acted in self-defence, with the defendant saying one of the three males chasing him had a knife.
During day 2 of the trial, on January 31, the jury heard from DC Andrew Burley, who had analysed the CCTV footage captured across the town on the night of the incident.
DC Burley said there were two occasions he believed he could see a knife throughout the footage, with the first being the initial fight in the Square.
He explained there was “a glimpse of something” and “a motion” shown by the camera.
DC Burley said he could also see a knife at the moment Mr Hamilton was stabbed.
He believed that on both occasions, the knife was being held by Betteridge.
When asked, “From your opinion, on the CCTV, do you see any other knife?", DC Burley responded, “No”.
The court heard how a second knife had been found by searching police officers in a shrubbery in the Lower Gardens following the incident.
DC Burley confirmed that there was no CCTV looking at the exact area where the knife was found.
Representing Betteridge, Edmund Burge KC suggested flaws in the CCTV footage available.
He noted that police could not prove any explanation of how the second knife got to the Lower Gardens, because they had no footage of it.
Mr Burge also disputed that a knife was visible in the footage from the first confrontation in the Square.
Thomas Betteridge, 18 and of Southsea, denies murdering Cameron Hamilton and being in possession of a bladed article.
Hansen, 18 and of Waterlooville, denies a charge of assisting an offender, having been accused of swapping shoes with Betteridge after the stabbing to help him avoid police detection.
The trial continues.
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