Yannick Cupido: Fatal stabbing was self-defence, court hears

A man fatally stabbed a friend on Valentine's Day in self-defence because he feared being attacked with a bottle, a court heard.

O'Neal Joseph, 28, is accused of the murder of Yannick Cupido, 24, in Reading in the early hours of 14 February this year.

Reading Crown Court heard Mr Joseph, of Amersham Road, Caversham, said he had been in fear for his life during a scuffle with Mr Cupido.

He denies murder.

Co-defendant Reece Weatherburn, 23, of Nire Road, Caversham, denies two counts of assisting an offender by helping Mr Joseph in the aftermath.

On Friday, Judge Amjad Nawaz summing up the case recounted Mr Joseph's defence.

The court heard Mr Joseph had become annoyed at Mr Cupido over prank texts on the evening of 13 February, and had messaged him threatening to kill him if something happened to Mr Weatherburn.

Giving evidence, Mr Joseph said after arranging to meet outside a shop in Lower Caversham, he took a knife in his pocket because Mr Cupido made a threat to "smoke [kill] him" and he was scared of his reputation.

He described Mr Cupido headbutting him twice, giving him a split lip, before pushing and shoving.

Mr Joseph told the court he then saw Mr Cupido holding a bottle and thought he would be stabbed with it, so he used his knife in self-defence.

He said: "If I hadn't done that, I feared I would be dead."

The court also heard Mr Weatherburn's defence, claiming he did not know what happened when he allowed Mr Joseph to return to his flat following the stabbing.

He added he lied to police in a statement because he felt he had "implicated" himself as he had met Mr Joseph shortly after the stabbing and was "in shock".

Judge Nawaz told the jury they are set to retire for their deliberations on Monday.

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