Man accused of double stabbing in Highland village tells Inverness Sheriff Court: 'I was in fear of my life'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A teenager accused of a double stabbing denied he had borrowed £1000 from one of his alleged victims when they lived in the same Inverness homeless accommodation.
However when cross-examined by fiscal depute Alex Swain on the second day of his jury trial, 19-year-old Dylan Thorpe of Strathpeffer admitted there was a "debt" of £60 and that was what he had told the police
However for legal reasons, he was unable to tell Inverness Sheriff Court what the money was for.
Re-examined by his lawyer, Graham Mann, Thorpe agreed the money had not been lent to him but it was "for some kind of other transaction".
Thorpe denies assaulting 25-year-old Dylan McWhinney by stabbing him repeatedly on the body in Mill Street, Ullapool on the night of July 31/August 1, 2020.
He also pleaded not guilty to assaulting 26-year-old fisherman Jordan Megabhandu by stabbing him on the body.
Mr McWhinney, who has since died from an unrelated cause, suffered a punctured lung and chest bleeding from a stab wound to his back as well as other wounds.
Megabhandu sustained an arm injury.
Thorpe was also prevented from telling the jury about "previous incidents" also for legal reasons.
But he said he was "scared" of Mr McWhinney and claimed it was his former friend who had attacked him with a knife.
Thorpe said he had managed to disarm Mr McWhinney despite being grabbed by Mr Megabhandu.
"I twisted the blade in his hand and snapped it. I injured my hands holding it. Then I was swinging the blade around and struck them with it.
"I was not aiming. I thought these boys were going to kill me. I was in fear of my life. Then I ran home. I didn't know I had injured Jordan until the police told me." Thorpe told the jury.
All the evidence has been presented and the jury will retire to consider their verdict on Thursday after hearing speeches from the lawyers and Sheriff Margaret Neilson's legal instructions.
Friends' fall-out over debt led to stabbing, sheriff court hears
