Ross Miller 'pulled knife on friend' months before alleged murder victim Brandon Lee was found dead

Kieran Main said Ross Miller had a look of "evil" before he pulled a knife out during a drinking session that turned "sour" at the end of April.

Miller is now on trial for the murder of Brandon Lee, 24, who suffered more than 100 injuries in an attack in the early hours of May 12.

Mr Lee died as a result of stab wounds to his neck and chest and suffered "60 separate actions from a sharp-edged weapon or weapons including chopping, stabbing and potentially slashing", jurors have heard.

Prosecutors claim Ross Miller carried out the violence at his home, while his brother Garry Miller assisted or encouraged the attack, with "murderousintent".

Ross Miller, 23, of Victoria Road, South Shields and Garry, 26, of Beach Road, South Shields, both deny murder and are being tried by a jury at NewcastleCrown Court.

Mr Main has told jurors, on the second day of the trial, he was left "intimidated" and "scared" after Ross Miller pulled out a knife during a visitto his home at the end of April.

He told the court: "It could have been me".

Mr Main said Miller and Mr Lee had visited him at his home and they had been drinking together and watching videos. He said: "I can't remember the specifics, where the conversation started getting angry but the mood changed.

"It was Ross started getting very angry and stuff and offensive with me and I wasn't really doing anything wrong.

"He was like angry, shouting, he had an angry look on his face, an evil look really."

Mr Main said Mr Lee was trying to "calm down" Miller, who then produced a knife.

He added: "He pulled a knife out of his pocket, I'm not sure if it was his pocket, he pulled a knife out of somewhere. He was waving it around, angry, really angry, he had a look I've never seen on someone's face really.

"He was waving the knife around and stuff."

Mr Main said Mr Lee had "dragged him out" and Miller threw a brick through his window, which smashed a pane, as they left.

He added: "If Brandon wasn't there, it would have been me."

The court heard Ross Miller had been diagnosed with leukaemia as a younger man and lost contact with some of his friends.

Witness Jay McElhatton told jurors he had been friends with Mr Lee for more than ten years and they had both got back in touch with Ross Miller, whothey had lost contact with five or six years before, through a Playstation game.

Mr McElhatton said they had reconnected while playing Call of Duty but he found Miller to be "loud, boisterous and confrontational".

Mr McElhatton said Miller had told him he had "some blades in his house, two big machetes" and had shown him a knife he was carrying.

In the hours before his death, Mr Lee had sent Mr McElhatton a snapchat message saying "oi oi, I'm on the sesh" and they had talked over Facetime.

Mr McElhatton told the court Mr Lee was in the flat with the Miller brothers when he spoke to him and added: "Brandon and Garry seemed alright but when I've gone on to Facetime to Ross, he was a bit boisterous".

The trial continues.

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