A court has heard a late-night quarrel between two men who did not know each other well ended with one fatally stabbing the other at least three times in the chest and throat.
Jeremy Choolum, 47, pleaded not guilty to murder on the first day of his trial on Monday in the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Alice Springs.
Mr Choolum has previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in relation to the man's death.
The trial before Chief Justice Michael Grant and a jury will now examine whether the homicide amounts to murder.
Shortly before midnight on April 3, 2020, NT Police responded to reports of an assault outside a public housing unit on Gap Road, where they found a 48-year-old man — who has not been named for cultural reasons — unresponsive on a neighbour's porch.
Mr Choolum, then 44, was found nearby on an adjacent street, with blood-stained clothing and a 30-centimetre kitchen knife, where he allegedly shouted out to police, "I'm here".
He was arrested that night after confessing to stabbing the man, who lived in a neighbouring unit along the busy road.
Mr Choolum was not tested for alcohol on the night of the incident, but told police he had been drinking that night.
Victim knocked on neighbour's door for help
The court heard Mr Choolum came across the man who died, who was with a friend, earlier that evening outside the front of the Pigglys Supermarket.
They spoke for several minutes, starting with a request by Mr Choolum for a cigarette.
The prosecution alleged the accused then walked away, before turning to the victim and pointing his finger and shouting at him.
The court heard the victim then turned to his friend and asked, "What does this c**t want?"
The confrontation between the two parties was captured on CCTV.
At around 11:40pm, witnesses saw the victim back on the other side of Gap Road, talking over a fence with a neighbour.
Moments later, the victim had been stabbed in or near the laneway by his home.
At 11:56pm, witnesses observed Mr Choolum running up Park Crescent with blood-stained clothing and the kitchen knife, yelling out in mostly Aboriginal language, dispersed with the words "murder" and "first time".
Meanwhile, the victim managed to stand up and knock on his neighbour's front door to ask for help.
The prosecution said the victim's condition declined rapidly, and he soon lay facedown by his neighbour's door, dying at the scene a short time later.
Accused cooperated with police
Crown Prosecutor David Dalrymple told the court the accused cooperated with police after he was found.
"The accused dropped the knife, and got on his knees on the road, put his hands up in the air and then complied with directions to lie face down," he said.
Mr Dalrymple said after the accused was handcuffed and arrested, he started telling police it was his "first time murdering" and expressed his desire to go to the police station immediately.
The prosecution flagged it was not suggesting Mr Choolum was using the word "murder" in its technical legal sense.
Mr Dalrymple said at the police watchhouse, the accused told the officer:
"I told that bloke [the deceased] ... 'Don't follow me'. I had a knife in my pocket, and the fella kept chasing me. I didn't like it, so I stabbed, another stab ... I murdered ... I stick a knife in his throat, I took the knife out, I stick a knife in his throat ... he kept threatening me."
The trial continues on Tuesday and is expected to run for two weeks.
