A man will deny at trial that he deliberately stabbed a Newcastle man in the back and front, a court has been told.
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Justin Shawn John Smith, 34, on Friday pleaded not guilty to murdering Luke William Freeman in a New Lambton Heights home on January 6.
But Justice Elizabeth Fullerton declined to immediately fix a NSW Supreme Court trial date after Smith indicated he intended denying the stabbing was deliberate or that he intended to kill Mr Freeman.
Self-defence and intoxication were also possible defences, the court was told.
Reading from the Crown's case summary, Justice Fullerton said Smith allegedly walked into the kitchen, returned to the lounge armed with a knife held at waist height and stabbed Mr Freeman in the back.
"That didn't happen?" she asked his lawyer.
She said after the first knife wound to the right of the ribs, the Crown alleged Mr Freeman turned around to face Smith before he stabbed him in the stomach.
The judge said she could only assume another person saw the alleged murder, given the detail in the case summary, and pointed to the "very considerable amount of DNA evidence" allegedly collected.
Justice Fullerton said she wouldn't set a trial date until Smith's barrister appeared before her on February 14 to further explain the defences.
Australian Associated Press
