The main witness in the murder trial of an Andover dad was described as “violent and abusive” by the defence during a tense day in court.
As previously reported, Justin Griffith, 42, is standing trial at Winchester Crown Court, accused of murdering 35-year-old Sean Ember, a father from Andover who was fatally stabbed on November 29 last year in Arcaro Road.
On Day 12 of the trial, the cross-examination of key witness Fynn Richardson continued, led by defence barrister Andrew Bird KC.
A significant portion of the proceedings focused on messages and social media content retrieved from Mr Richardson’s phone.
The court was shown images of messages between Mr Richardson and various individuals using false names, allegedly involved in drug dealing.
When questioned, Mr Richardson denied knowing the true identities of the people he was communicating with.
The court also saw images of drugs found on his phone, but Mr Richardson claimed: “They are screenshots and not taken by me.”
The defence then scrutinised Mr Richardson’s Instagram posts and played excerpts from his music videos, suggesting they pointed to a history of violence.
In one video, Mr Richardson and others were seen holding a handgun.
READ MORE: LIVE: Trial continues for man accused of killing 'caring and thoughtful' dad
“They are just props,” Mr Richardson said.
“It’s all for entertainment — that’s what people want to see these days.”
Defence's cross-examination then shifted to an incident at a party in early November 2024.
When asked whether he assaulted a man at the gathering, Mr Richardson said: “I slapped him, yes — but it wasn’t an assault. It was self-defence; he was abusing me.”
The court was later shown a video found on Mr Richardson’s phone, showing a man with a large knife and a wad of cash on his lap.
The defence argued the man was Mr Richardson, noting the matching voice and clothing linked to him.
Mr Richardson denied being in the video, possessing the weapon, or filming it, claiming he had no idea how the footage ended up on his device.
Later, the court also heard from the defence that Mr Richardson didn't leave a load of cocaine at Arcaro Road address because he didn't want Sean Ember to have any.
But Mr Richardson claimed he had left a large bag of cocaine at his mother’s home in Amport, which he never retrieved.
However, the defence pointed out that police found no such drugs when they searched the property.
Mr Richardson stood by his claim: “It is a matter of fact that I left the bulk of the drugs at Amport, and that is what I told the police.”
The trial continues.
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