THE girlfriend of a Holyhead mechanic who was stabbed to death told of how she tried to protect him from the man accused of his murder.
Laura Jones said that she put Scott Whitley in a headlock to stop him from attacking Leon Jamie Jones.
During a recorded police interview Miss Jones said she was pushed to the ground by 29-year-old Whitley moments before Mr Jones was stabbed at around midnight on November 28, 2009.
The jury at Caernarfon crown court heard her say: "We tried to walk away but he (Mr Whitley) just came towards us.
"I sort of stood between them, then I sort of pushed backwards to get out of the way.”
Miss Jones said that Mr Jones recognised the defendant and said “Scott, it’s me Leon” seconds before the blow was struck, and that she thought the blow had been a punch.
Visibly distressed while giving evidence via video link, Miss Jones added that at no point did Mr Jones shout at or touch Mr Whitley during the incident.
Witness for the prosecution, Robert Steven Hughes, who owns the caravan to which Whitley fled to after the incident, said the defendant told him he had been arguing with Leon’s girlfriend and that she had been cheeky with him.
The defendant had then said that Leon shouted “Oi, what’s going on?”, to which he had replied “I’ll tell you what’s going on.”
Hughes went on that Whitley said he had gone in to his house on Tan yr Efail through a side door and opened a drawer before taking out a knife.
Robert Philpotts, prosecuting, said: "Scott Whitley deliberately armed himself with a large, potentially lethal weapon and went to confront Leon Jones.
“We say that is murder.”
He added that Mr Jones was stabbed with a 19 inch blade which entered through his fifth and sixth ribs and penetrated his lungs and heart.
The court heard that on the night Mr Jones died he had been walking home with his long-term girlfriend, Laura Jones, in Holyhead.
Having said goodnight the pair went in different directions and Mr Whitely approached Miss Jones on Kingsland Road and threatened to hit her after she told him to leave her alone.
Miss Jones called her boyfriend and screamed for help as she believed that Mr Whitley was about to hit her, and Mr Jones spotted a man he believed to be the person who threatened girl friend Miss Jones and followed him towards Tan Yr Efail before the incident occurred.
Mr Jones was pronounced dead at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor at 1.36am on November 29.
Mr Whitely pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Jones and the charge of possessing a knife.
He denies murder.
The case continues.