Daniel Quinn took the stand at Northampton crown court yesterday (February 12) to say he was the one who stabbed Daniel Fitzjohn, 34, to death on June 14 in 2018.
But prosecutor Miss Mary Loram QC attacked Quinn's account and claimed he 'hunted' Mr Fitzjohn down to get revenge for a punch his victim gave him in a scuffle earlier that evening.
Quinn's defence is that after Quinn caught up to Mr Fitzjohn after a foot chase onto Randall Road, Mr Fitzjohn went to hit him with a beer can he was holding. Quinn says he then stabbed Mr Fitzjohn in self-defence before Mr Fitzjohn could 'get him'.
"That, I make clear, is a blinding lie," said Miss Loram QC. "You are lying when you say that. You tracked him down. You stabbed him because you were angry that this man had dared to punch you earlier."
Quinn said: "That's not true. He turned around and that caught me by surprise. I thought he was armed.
"It was true that I was angry but I didn't track him down.
"I'm not a murderer."
The prosecutor said: "You may not think of yourself as a murderer but that is what you are, Mr Quinn. You may regret it now but you are a murderer."
"I'm not a murderer," said Quinn.
Miss Loram QC asked Quinn: "Is any of this your fault?"
Quinn said: "Obviously I know it's my fault what happened. But I didn't mean to do any of that [seriously harm or kill Mr Fitzjohn]."
Mr Fitzjohn died of two fatal stab wounds to the chest. Giving evidence earlier, Quinn had said he "stabbed him once on Randall Road".
In court, Quinn accepted that he must have stabbed Mr Fitzjohn a second time at some point "by accident" while "waving the knife around".
The trial continues.