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Elexi Manny, 25, denies murdering Tristan Kerr, 17, who was stabbed through the heart while playing Fortnite at a friend's house in Caerphilly. The trial at Newport Crown Court has heard that the teenager, a talented rugby player, was attacked within moments of four people entering the property, in an incident the prosecution describes as "immediate and purposeful." Manny, of Senghenydd, Caerphilly, is accused of acting as the group's getaway driver; her defence team has told the jury the case against her is "desperately flawed" and that she had no motive to harm the teenager.
Daily Dazzling Dawn understands the jury was taken through the sequence of events on the afternoon Tristan died. The court heard he was playing Fortnite on his Playstation at a friend's home when the group arrived. Michael Jones KC, prosecuting, said that within moments of all four walking inside together, Tristan was deliberately and fatally stabbed in the chest by Georgie Mears, 19.
Mears, Connor Palfrey, 25, of Abertridwr, Caerphilly, and Ricardo Elliot, 27, of London, are jointly accused of murder alongside Manny. All four deny the charge. The trial is expected to run for between four and six weeks.
The court heard that Palfrey let himself in through the unlocked front door and walked into the living room carrying a wooden stick, described as eight to ten inches long, with a nail driven through it. Mears is alleged to have followed, armed with a "Rambo or hunting" style knife. Mr Jones told the jury that Mears shouted "what, what, what?" as he entered and was "acting like a gangster," before saying to Tristan: "get here Trist, what you saying?"
The prosecution's account states that Mears went directly towards Tristan, pointing and swinging the knife. Tristan stood up and tried to fend him off, using his arms to hold Mears back and push him away. The court heard that Palfrey brandished the nail-studded stick to deter Tristan's friends from intervening. The entire attack is said to have lasted less than two minutes. In the course of it, the knife passed through Tristan's lung and heart.
One friend managed to grab hold of Mears. Tristan and Connor Davies then ran out through the back of the house, around the side of the property, past a parked car and towards a skip.
It was there, the jury was told, that Tristan began to fail. Mr Jones said Mr Davies tried to take his friend's weight and get him back inside, but Tristan grew weaker with every step. He attempted to steady himself against the skip before falling. "Tristan said to Connor Davies 'Custard, I'm hurting, my side'," the prosecutor told the court. He then said: "I love you bro, you're a good 'un you are."
Tristan collapsed twice more before reaching a nearby car, where he fell for the final time, striking his head as his legs gave way beneath him. He died at the scene shortly afterwards from the catastrophic injury to his chest.
The prosecution alleges that all four defendants left the house together and drove away in the same vehicle, which was driven by Manny. Mr Jones accepted that the reason the group attended the address is known only to those in the dock. "The prosecution do not have to prove a motive for what ultimately happened to Tristan," he said, "but what did happen, we say, was immediate and purposeful."
Manny's case is that she played no part in the killing and had no reason to wish the teenager harm. Her legal team has characterised the prosecution's construction of the getaway allegation as "desperately flawed," urging the jury to examine the evidence linking her to the events of that day rather than the narrative advanced by the Crown.
The jury has been asked to consider the movements of four people over a compressed period, and to decide whether the Crown has proved that each of them shared an intention to cause Tristan at least really serious harm.
The trial continues at Newport Crown Court before a presiding judge, with the prosecution case still being presented. Each defendant maintains a denial of murder, meaning the central question for the jury will be the common purpose of those who entered the house and the role, if any, played by the woman said to have been behind the wheel.
Tristan, from Caerphilly, was remembered in court as a gifted young rugby player whose death has left his family and friends devastated. Daily Dazzling Dawn will report further developments as the evidence is heard.
