A man accused of fatally stabbing an ex-army veteran later told his friend how his alleged victim's blood felt "warm" on his hands, a trial has heard.
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"We only went out to rob him, I didn't think he was going to fight back like that, now he's dead," Raymond Allen also allegedly told a woman after the incident.
Allen is on trial for murdering David McArthur, aged 48, at his Palm Beach Caravan Park cabin in Sanctuary Point about 8pm on July 25 2021 - with defence barrister Gabriel Wendler telling the jury the knifing was in self-defence.
Allen confirmed his plea of not guilty to one count of murder at the NSW Supreme Court, sitting in Wollongong, as the trial began on Monday.
Crown prosecutor Nerissa Kay told the jury Mr McArthur sold methamphetamine in the year prior to his death, including to one of Allen's friends who was in debt to his girlfriend.
Allen and his friend then sketched a plan to rob Mr McArthur of drugs and money.
"I need the coin badly lol," Allen allegedly told his accomplice via text message a few days before the incident.
CCTV footage showed the pair arriving at the caravan park in a Great Wall ute, with a shirtless Allen placing a knife down his pants before walking to Mr McArthur's cabin.
Planning to cut the power to Mr McArthur's cabin in a bid to lure him outside, Allen's accomplice accidentally switched off the electricity to Hailey Morgan's neighbouring cabin instead.
The men then went inside Mr McArthur's cabin where Allen is accused of stabbing Mr McArthur below the collarbone, severing his artery and causing him to bleed heavily.
The men were seen returning to the ute without drugs or money, with Allen's accomplice heard apologising for turning the lights off on the wrong cabin.
Allen was also allegedly heard apologising for sticking the knife "all the way through" Mr McArthur: "Sorry man, I f---ed it".
Meanwhile Ms Morgan, who took to the witness stand, said she saw Mr McArthur through his kitchen window and that he screamed: "I've been stabbed, I need help".
She said she kicked Mr McArthur's front door in which was blocked by a dishwasher. "He was kneeling, conscious when I first came in," Ms Morgan said.
The jury heard Ms Morgan's call to triple zero, with the operator instructing her as she performed CPR on Mr McArthur - who had turned "white" - on his kitchen floor.
Paramedics arrived about 8.20pm however couldn't resuscitate Mr McArthur. He was pronounced dead and a crime scene was established.
Meanwhile police allegedly uncovered text messages sent by Allen after the incident, in which he told someone: "I stabbed a guy in the throat, he squealed like a pig, so I ran".
Allen was also allegedly heard saying he "stabbed a man through the heart at a caravan park" and that "the blood felt warm" on his hand.
Police searched the park and allegedly found a knife with its blade snapped off in a nearby stormwater drain, understood to be the weapon used to kill Mr McArthur.
An autopsy revealed a 12 centimetre wound in Mr McArthur's right subclavian artery.
Ms Kay said it's not in dispute that Allen stabbed Mr McArthur with the central issue in the trial being whether he acted in self-defence.
The trial, before Justice Des Fagan, is expected to run for two weeks. Mr McArthur's family were present in the court room.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
