Robert Noel Rogers, 52, faced the start of a Brisbane Supreme Court trial on Monday after pleading not guilty to the murder of Raymond Scopelitis on August 16 2021.
Mr Scopelitis, 32, died just before midnight from massive blood loss on the street outside Rogers’ home at Nambour, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, despite paramedics fighting to save his life.
About 25 minutes earlier, Rogers had left his unit and allegedly stabbed Mr Scopelitis in the chest after he had banged on the front door and demanded payment of a $500 debt.
Rogers told neighbour Christopher Day he “stabbed some prick who came to my door and called me a pedo”, the jury was told.
Mr Day would testify he found a large knife in Rogers’ sink and put on the kitchen bench, crown prosecutor Ben Jackson said on Monday.
Mr Scopelitis suffered cardiac arrest due to blood loss from a 15cm deep knife wound.
“The knife penetrated deep into vital structures and caused an enormous haemorrhage … there was a lot of blood,” Mr Jackson said.
Rogers did not suffer significant injury.
Mr Scopelitis and Rogers were sometime users of methamphetamine, the jury was told.
Mr Scopelitis had previously visited the accused’s unit to supply the drug.
He had a relationship with a woman and thought Rogers had sexually abused her as a child, the court was told.
The woman will testify that the allegation was not true but Mr Scopelitis believed it was and would often refer to Rogers as a pedophile, Mr Jackson said.
In the weeks before his death, Mr Scopelitis had exchanged increasingly aggressive text messages with Rogers seeking payment of $500.
“Don’t think I won’t find where you live,” Rogers texted.
Mr Scopelitis told others that Rogers “needed dealing with” and he was going to “f*** up this pedophile”.
The jury would hear important evidence from a man called Mitchell Hunter who drove Mr Scopelitis to Rogers’ unit.
Mr Hunter was surprised to see Mr Scopelitis pull out a knife when Rogers came outside and stood at the top of a flight of stairs.
“Mr Rogers then kicked or punched Mr Scopelitis in the centre of his chest. He was immediately knocked to the ground,” Mr Jackson said.
Mr Hunter would testify he heard the knife fall to the ground and Mr Scopelitis was disarmed when Rogers stood over him and inflicted punches and kicks.
Mr Hunter did not see the stabbing, Mr Jackson said.
The key question was if Rogers was entitled to defend himself and his home in the way he did, defence barrister Jacob Robson told the jury.
“He was at home and asleep. Within moments he found himself in a fight for his life,” Mr Robson said.
Mr Scopelitis was a drug dealer with a history of drug-induced psychosis and somehow believed without reason that Rogers was a pedophile, the jury heard.
“What brought the deceased man to the unit that night? Why did he have the huge knife? What did he plan to do with it?” Mr Robson told the jury.
The trial is due to run for another six days before Justice Declan Kelly.
