Bourne murder trial hears from man accused of killing Kyle Marshall

A man who denies murdering Kyle Marshall in a Bourne park told a jury he did not deliberately stab him.

Reece Bruns, 20, said he believed Mr Marshall was also armed with a knife and he felt scared for his life.

Prosecutors allege an unarmed Mr Marshall, 37, bled to death after Mr Bruns stabbed in the heart with a machete in Wellhead Park on the night of June 26 last year.

But giving evidence at Lincoln Crown Court, Mr Bruns insisted he only used the knife to scare Mr Marshall away and had no intention to kill him.

Mr Bruns, 20, of St Paul's Gardens, Bourne, and a 17-year-old youth who is alleged to have passed him the machete, both deny the murder of Mr Marshall and a second charge of possessing a bladed article in public.

The prosecution allege there had been a number of disagreements between the two men which escalated after Mr Bruns attacked Mr Marshall's brother-in-law at the Bourne beer festival on June 1.

On the night of Mr Marshall's death Mr Bruns said he did not think there was any danger until he heard the youth say "that's Kyle."

"I'd never actually seen him in real life," Mr Bruns explained. "He (Kyle) looked different to his Facebook profile."

"He looked like he was speaking to someone," Mr Bruns added. "I was trying to not like being seen.

"I didn't want him to know I was there. I guess I was a little bit scared.

"As I walked over to the bench I saw he spotted me. That's when he started running and I asked for help."

Mr Bruns said when Kyle got close he heard him swear and say "I'm going to kill you."

"He was really angry, like nothing was going to stop him," Mr Bruns told the jury.

Mr Bruns said he froze and the others in the park ignored his appeal for help.

"I felt like I'd exhausted all my options," Mr Bruns explained

"At the time I was pretty sure I saw something sharp in his (Kyle's) hand. It looked like he had a blade, a knife."

Mr Bruns said at that stage he could not remember if he asked the youth for the knife or he just gave it to him.

"As I had it (the knife) I was moving backwards to try and avoid him. (Kyle)

"I saw something sharp, I thought if I've got this in my hand, no ones helping me, I've exhausted all my options, surely he's going to back away.

"But he just kept on coming towards me."

Mr Bruns said he thought it was Kyle who threw the first blow.

"I remember getting a cut on my finger, I tried to block it," Mr Bruns said.

"He (Kyle) kept on coming towards me and somehow we just both ended up on the floor. It was really quick.

"He was on top of me and I somehow managed to break free."

Mr Bruns was asked if there was any deliberate attempt to stab Mr Marshall and replied "I don't think so."

"I was just trying to scare him so he would move away from me," Mr Bruns said.

"I was just trying to de-escalate the situation."

Mr Bruns insisted he he had no intention to kill Mr Marshall or cause him serious harm.

"I thought I maybe could have died, all I know is I was just scared for my life."

Mr Bruns said he then took his opportunity to escape and threw the knife into a bush.

"I didn't want it and I noticed there was done blood on it."

Mr Bruns said he did not realise Mr Marshall had suffered a fatal injury and thought he would be ok.

When asked if he thought he had done anything wrong Mr Bruns replied: "Not really, I thought I'd acted in self defence."

Mr Bruns said he spent the rest of the night "hiding out" because he feared Kyle or his family might try and get him.

The trial continues.