A man who was fatally stabbed outside a social-housing estate was "drunk, angry, jealous" and looking for his former girlfriend, a jury has heard
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Nicholas Luke Martin, 30, claims he stabbed 42-year-old Shahn Baker in self-defence, during a dispute outside a social-housing estate in Erina, on the NSW Central Coast, about 8.30pm on February 3, 2022.
An intoxicated Mr Baker went to Martin's home within the estate to look for his former girlfriend, Maxie Wilson, a jury heard at the start of a murder trial in the Supreme Court on Monday.
Ms Wilson had started a relationship with Martin several weeks earlier after a six-year relationship between her and Mr Baker ended, the court heard.
Martin's lawyer, Antony Evers told the jury Mr Baker and Ms Wilson's relationship was extremely abusive including instances of him threatening her with a knife and forcing her to drink bleach.
"At the time that Mr Baker turned up at the front door of Nick Martin's house, he was angry, he was jealous," Mr Evers said.
"He believed he had an entitlement to a relationship with Maxie Wilson, even though she was telling him to leave her alone."
Before going to Martin's house, Mr Baker purchased alcohol at the nearby Erina Fair shopping centre and was seen to be intoxicated by several witnesses, the jury heard.
Mr Baker told one witness Ms Wilson was still his girlfriend and he had bought an engagement ring with the intention of marrying her, crown prosecutor Liam Shaw said.
When Mr Baker arrived at the house, first Ms Wilson and then Martin went outside, leading to a physical altercation between the men, the jury was told.
Ms Wilson is expected to give evidence she saw what she thought was Martin punching Mr Baker in the jaw, after which he fell to the ground.
According to Mr Evers, Martin stabbed Mr Baker once, piercing his heart and causing him to die "fairly quickly".
"Mr Martin believed it was necessary to do what he did order to defend himself and Ms Martin from a drunk, angry, jealous man," Mr Evers told the jury.
"In short, Mr Martin was acting in defence of himself and Ms Wilson."
When police arrived, Martin was cradling Mr Baker with his hands over his chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding, Mr Evers told the jury.
"He tried to keep Mr Baker alive," Mr Evers said.
Following the incident, Martin and Ms Wilson allegedly lied to police about what occurred, telling them the stabber was an unknown man who fled the scene.
Ms Wilson was charged and convicted for giving false accounts to police, but received a reduced sentence after agreeing to assist police against Martin, Mr Shaw told the jury.
Mr Shaw said it would be open to the jury to also consider a manslaughter verdict if they did not find Martin intended either to kill or seriously wound Mr Baker.
The jury is due to visit the crime scene on Tuesday, with the trial expected to run for roughly three weeks.
Australian Associated Press
