THE man accused of murdering Sean Ember was "delirious" and convinced himself the victim had stolen drugs from him, according to a witness.
As previously reported, Justin Griffith, 42, is on trial in Winchester Crown Court, accused of murdering Sean Ember, a 35-year-old father from Andover who was stabbed on November 29, last year, in Arcaro Road.
Day 11 of the trial saw key witness, Fynn Richardson, cross-examined by the defence, Andrew Bird KC.
The court heard that Griffith accused Sean Ember of stealing something from his pocket while he was "pretending" to sleep, following a night of substance abuse. Griffith, Sean Ember and Fynn Richardson had all used cocaine on the night of this alleged incident.
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Speaking in court, Fynn Richardson explained the events from that night: "I remember I got my own drugs dropped off, my own cocaine.
"I think I went into the kitchen, I weighed it to see if it weighed the right amount and just used it.
"I let Justin have some, let Sean have as much as he wants. Later that night they had another argument
"The next day, Justin said 'I saw Sean take something out of my pocket, I was pretending to be asleep', which was a lie."
Fynn said that Griffith alleged that Sean Ember took a "little bit of cocaine," from his pocket, "even though I had cocaine downstairs, which was more than a little bit."
It was after this that Griffith confided in Mr Richardson, who said: "Justin came to me and said 'I know he took it last night' - not in an angry way - but as if he saw it.
"It didn't happen at all, I was in the same room. I genuinely think he was making things up in his head
"Sean was like 'why would I do that when I have all of that cocaine downstairs?'"
Mr Richardson explained how Griffith had seemed "delirious" at times, even on different days.
He said: "He had a conversation with all three of us about it in the kitchen. I basically told him 'you're going mad'
"Why would Sean take a little bit of drugs from you, and why would I let him do that when we have all this downstairs?'"
Mr Richardson explained that he and Sean had both gone to check on Griffith after hearing him "retching".
He said: "I went into his room a few times in the night because Justin was retching, and I asked if he wanted us to call an ambulance. He said he does this all the time.
"Sean only came to the bedroom just to the door, that was all."
Mr Richardson explained that the day before, Griffith had gone with him and Sean Ember to the Co op to get beer before returning to Arcaro Road.
Fynn Richardson recalled: "On the way there, Justin was delirious, he was speaking to me like I was his daughter or something."
The trial continues.
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