The man charged with the murder of Osagi Bascome repeatedly denied that he was involved in the fracas that resulted in the footballer’s death.

Raheem Wray also told a Supreme Court jury that he had been a close friend of Mr Bascome, who died after being stabbed twice after a party at the Fun Zone in St David’s in the early hours of December 18, 2021.

Giving evidence at his trial yesterday, Mr Wray told defence lawyer Jerome Lynch KC that he had gone to the Fun Zone centre with a friend, Jahnazae Swan, in a car driven by Mr Swan.

He said there were security staff at the club and he was searched before entering.

Mr Wray said that the atmosphere at the party was “kind of boring” and he left at about 3am because the event was winding down. Walking through the car park, he met Mr Swan, who said ‘let’s go’.

According to Mr Wray, once in the car, Mr Swan told him that Mr Bascome had agreed to “pay him”.

Mr Wray said: “Word on the street was that Osagi owed Naz some money. My understanding was that it was for drugs. I hadn’t spoken to Naz or Osagi about it, but had heard about it.”

The defendant said that the car then pulled away but stopped as a motorcycle crossed its path. He then heard the murder victim saying, “He punched me, he punched me, he punched me”.

At that point, according to Mr Wray, Mr Bascome’s older brother, Onias Bascome, approached the car and began talking to Mr Swan.

Mr Wray said: “He was talking to Naz, saying ‘why did your bro hit my bro?’”

The defendant said that Mr Swan then got out of the car and approached the murder victim before the pair began a heated exchange.

Mr Wray said: “Osagi was saying ‘your bro punched me, so I’m not paying’.”

After Mr Swan got out of the vehicle, Mr Wray said he crossed over into the driver’s seat and put the car in park before getting out through the driver’s door and joining Onias Bascome.

“We might have had words, but it wasn’t angry — the only people who were angry were Naz and Osagi,” he said.

Mr Wray said that the argument then became physical, and other bystanders started joining in.

He said: “There was just a whole bunch of commotion going on, but I didn’t join the group.”

He said he then heard a scream coming from the group but didn’t know who had made it.

Mr Lynch asked his client: “We know that Osagi was stabbed. Did you see him being stabbed? Did you see someone with a knife? Did you have a knife? Did you stab him? Did you see anyone look like they had stabbed him?”

To each question, Mr Wray replied firmly: “No sir.”

But after hearing the scream, Mr Wray said he did see Onias Bascome run to a van and “come out with a knife in his hand”.

He said: “When I saw the knife, I started hyping out. I got back into the car, then Naz got into the car, and drove off.”

In earlier evidence, Onias Bascome had testified that he saw Mr Wray with a knife.

Mr Wray insisted that he only discussed the incident briefly with Mr Swan during the drive out of St David’s, and did not know that Mr Bascome had been stabbed to death until he received a call later that morning.

During earlier questioning by Mr Lynch, the defendant said that he had known Mr Swan since childhood and was also friends with the victim. During the Covid pandemic, he was employed to carry out virus tests on guests and staff at the Rosewood Hotel in Tucker’s Town, where Mr Bascome worked.

He also admitted that he had had several run-ins with the law as a teenager, pleading guilty to driving while under age, causing bodily harm by driving a vehicle dangerously, and one count of stealing a bag.

During intense, rapid-fire, cross-examination questioning, prosecutor Cindy Clarke pointed out that stealing was a crime of dishonesty and that he was a dishonest man.

When Mr Wray said that his criminal activity was in his past, Ms Clarke said: “I suggest it is your present, too.”

Ms Clarke questioned why Mr Wray had not had any discussion with Mr Swan about the money owed by Mr Bascome.

She asked the defendant why he had not tried to break up the fight between his two friends and why he did not drive away from the scene as soon as he had the opportunity, rather than wait for Mr Swan to get in the car.

Mr Wray stuck to his version of events.

He said: “I don’t know who stabbed Osagi Ms Clarke, but it wasn’t me. I didn’t have a knife, and I didn’t get involved in the fighting. It was nothing to do with me.”

In her summing up, Ms Clarke told the jury that, although there was no forensic evidence, the Crown’s case was “rock solid”.

She said that there were three strands of circumstantial evidence that the jury should focus on — opportunity, the behaviour of the defendant before the stabbing, and his behaviour immediately afterwards.

She also said that identification was “at the heart of this case” and pointed to the evidence of two witnesses, one who placed Mr Wray at the scene, and another who saw him stab Mr Bascome.

She said: “This defendant is a dishonest man. He has been convicted of dishonest offences and he is the one who killed Osagi.”

Mr Lynch is expected to give his summing-up today before Assistant Justice Mark Pettingill delivers his instructions to the jury.