Alleged murderer Joshua Higgins had unexplained cuts to his right hand

Joshua Higgins has pleaded not guilty to stabbing his friend Jae-Ho Oh to death in the early hours of March 11, 2019.

The court had been told previously that the accused injected ice and hadn't slept for two days before spending the day drinking with Mr Oh at his Gungahlin townhouse in the hours before the victim's death.

During the jury trial in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, the court was shown a number of images taken of Mr Higgins shortly after his arrest, handcuffed, wearing a dirty T-shirt and what appeared to be bloodstained shorts.

Forensic medical officer Dr Jane Van Diemen performed the initial physical assessment and forensic procedure on Higgins - including DNA sampling - before deeming him unfit for a police interview due to his extreme tiredness and acute intoxication.

Dr Van Diemen described the cuts and abrasions to various parts of Higgins' body in detail but was not able to state unequivocally how the accused had suffered the multiple cuts to his right hand.

Defence barrister Kieran Ginges hypothesised that Higgins' injuries were a result of him trying to defend himself.

During the course of the evidence presented by medical specialists, it was revealed that the accused weighed 89kg and was 188cm tall, whereas the deceased was 68kg and 174cm.

Dr Van Diemen told the court that when people were trying to defend themselves from attack, the most typical injuries were to the palms of the hands. She said that when someone tried to grab a weapon in self defence, cuts usually were suffered to the palms and the creases of the fingers. However, these were not the nature of the injuries found on the accused.

"I don't know how to interpret these [hand] injuries without any degree of assurity," Dr Van Dieman said.

The trial continues.

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