Jarrod Frank, 41, is charged with the January 3 murder of Scott Bury in Bendigo.

Andrew Lentjes, an acquaintance of Mr Frank, was on Tuesday called to give evidence on the first day of a committal hearing at the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court.

Mr Lentjes said Mr Frank and Mr Bury, who were friends, were having a debate on January 3. That day the three men went to Mr Bury’s home, he said, and everything seemed normal.

Mr Lentjes told the court Mr Bury unsuccessfully tried to find an answer to settle the debate on his computer, then Mr Frank went on and found it, before calling to Mr Bury, “Hey b**ch”.

The court heard Mr Bury ran to the kitchen and said, “You called the wrong bloke a b**ch in the wrong house”, grabbing two knives. Mr Lentjes said Mr Bury stabbed Mr Frank in the chest.

Mr Lentjes told the court he left the unit, then heard a bang and smashing sound from inside. He said Mr Frank followed him outside 10 to 15 seconds later, then Mr Bury came out holding the two knives and a steel bar.

CCTV footage played to the court showed two people walk to a car in front of Mr Bury’s unit about 12.10pm, then another person in a white shirt approach shortly afterwards.

Mr Lentjes said Mr Bury was kicking the car, and trying to hit Mr Frank through the window with the bar.

He said Mr Frank and Mr Bury began “wrestling around” so he left, kicking one knife he saw on the ground away from the pair.

A short time later, he saw Mr Frank at the Bendigo train station, but did not notice anything different about him and there was no discussion about what had happened at Mr Bury’s home. 

Mr Lentjes told the court he never saw Mr Frank with a knife in his hand and did not see Mr Bury with any injuries.

There was blood seeping through Mr Frank’s shirt, he said, which he first saw when Mr Frank went outside to the car.

The pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Mr Bury’s body, Dr Joanna Glengarry, said the cause of death was blood loss from a 15 to 20 centimetre-deep stab wound to his abdomen.

Dr Glengarry said Mr Bury also had three other cuts to his abdomen, numerous “defence-type injuries” to his hands – including the severing of tendons in three fingers – injuries to his forearms, a laceration to an eyelid, and bruising.

The court heard methadone, the medication clonazepam and cannabis were found in his system.

Dr Glengarry said these medications tended to cause sedation, rather than agitation, but might have had little impact on behaviour.

Mr Frank was examined by forensic physician Dr Angela Sungaila, who found he had a scratch abrasion she believed had been recent, and was possibly caused by the tip of a sharp object.

Dr Sungaila also found he had a superficial injury to his chest, which appeared caused by a sharp object, possibly a knife, and a bruise with minor abrasions to his elbow, which was possibly suffered in the previous 24 hours.

Mr Frank also had a number of other injuries, which Dr Sungaila did not believe were recent. 

Mr Bury’s neighbour Jaron Rettalick told the court he heard banging across the road the day Mr Bury died. He said a neighbour’s child came to get him and he found Mr Bury wearing a white bloodstained shirt.

The court heard Mr Rettalick and Mr Bury had had some confrontations, including one after Mr Rettalick saw Mr Bury in a fight with a woman and he intervened.

Another witness, Stephanie O’Bree, described Mr Bury as agitated and aggressive when he came into the shop where she worked on January 3.

The hearing continues.

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