JERICHO ‘murder’ victim Alex Innes died from a stab wound that pierced his heart, a court heard.

Home Office pathologist Dr Charlotte Randall, who conducted the 25-year-old’s post-mortem at the John Radcliffe Hospital within hours of his death, told jurors at Oxford Crown Court on Friday (May 26) that the chest wound was nine centimetres deep.

It damaged cartilage on a rib before cutting into the right ventricle of his heart, she said. The wound was roughly four-and-a-half centimetres wide.

Prosecutors allege that Greg Muinami, 19, was the man who inflicted single, fatal stab wound during an argument near the Love Jericho cocktail bar in Walton Street in the early hours of November 13 last year.

Muinami denies murder, manslaughter and possession of a bladed article, as do three co-defendants said by the Crown to have assisted him in the group assault.

It is alleged that Mr Innes and Muinami had argued over a £100 debt owed by the teen for a pair of trainers sold to him by the older man.

UPDATES FROM JERICHO TRIAL SO FAR

Giving evidence via video link, Dr Randall told the court that the stab wound may have been caused by a knife with a single, straight cutting edge.

"No obvious serrated features were noted. However, that does not exclude the use of a serrated blade,” she told prosecutor Jonathan Higgs KC.

To inflict the wound would have required moderate to severe force, the court heard. In addition to the chest wound, he had a small, superficial cut to the little finger on his right hand. There were no ‘defensive’-type injuries.

Cross-examined by David Hislop KC, for alleged stabber Muinami, she readily accepted that trying to determine the characteristics of a knife from the pathological evidence alone was ‘not a foolproof science’.

While the doctor found significant internal bleeding during her post-mortem, she said it would have been likely that Mr Innes would have had ‘some blood loss’ – but added that it was ‘possible’ that his clothing would have stanched some of the initial bleeding.

No blood matched to Mr Innes’ DNA was recovered from Muinami’s clothing, either on garments that he was wearing on his arrest two days after the fatal stabbing or recovered from his home in Cranham Street, Jericho.

Jurors heard from forensic scientists who said a single stab wound might not result in the type of blood staining characteristically associated with a stabbing.

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Traces of Mr Innes’ blood was found on the trainers worn by Michael Oluyitan, Bradley Morton and Keyarno Johnson-Allen, all of whom were involved in what prosecutors characterised as the ‘chase’ of the complainant after the stabbing.

More significant blood staining was seen on Oluyitan’s sleeve, the court heard. CCTV shown to jurors earlier this week showed Oluyitan come into contact with Mr Innes as they ran down the road.

Forensic scientist Lorna Fergus, who analysed the alleged victim’s clothing, said much of the damage to Mr Innes' jumper and t-shirt had been caused by the emergency services cutting it from him as they battled to save his life.

However, she identified cuts to both jumper and t-shirt that corresponded to the chest wound, and a ‘slash’-type cut to the handwarmer pocket of his hooded top.

Greg Muinami, 19, of Cranham Street, Michael Oluyitan, 19, of Waynflete Road, Bradley Morton, 18, of Cumberlege Close, and Keyarno Johnson-Allen, 19, of Furlong Close, deny murder, manslaughter and possession of a bladed article.

The trial continues.