Man fatally stabbed outside party: court

An accused killer told police he didn't want to hurt a man he allegedly fatally
stabbed in the heart outside a suburban house party, a court has heard.
Khan Samson-Rimoni, 21, is alleged to have stabbed Cory McGoon in the early hours of
September 14, 2008.
Rimoni has pleaded not guilty to murder in the Victorian Supreme Court.
Opening his trial on Tuesday, prosecutor Ian Heath said Mr McGoon, 20, had earlier
tried to break up a fight between two brothers at the party in Clayton, in
Melbourne's southeast.
Rimoni told him to leave the pair alone, before grabbing Mr McGoon by the neck.
Mr McGoon responded by punching him in the head, Mr Heath said.
The prosecution alleges Rimoni confronted Mr McGoon again that night outside the party.
Mr Heath said Mr McGoon was in his car when Rimoni approached him and slapped him in
the face.
Rimoni was overheard saying, "Yeh, c'mon, you want to have a go."
Unarmed, Mr McGoon got out of his car and Rimoni stabbed him in the arm, hand and
chest using a knife that was hidden under his clothes, Mr Heath said.
Mr McGoon collapsed on the road and died from a single stab wound to the chest.
Rimoni returned to the party, telling those gathered there that Mr McGoon was on the
road and "I think he has been hit".
Mr Heath said Rimoni made some admissions during a police interview and initially
denied there was a knife.
He said it was the prosecution's case that Rimoni discarded the knife used to kill
or seriously injure Mr McGoon.
Defence lawyer Scott Johns said it was disputed whether his client confronted the
accused and stabbed him.
Mr Johns said his client suggested to police he didn't stab Mr McGoon and told them:
"I didn't actually stab him. I think he was coming towards me. I didn't want to hurt
him. I was not going to use it. I shouldn't have had the knife in the first place."
Mr Johns said Rimoni carried a knife for protection after being set upon weeks earlier.
"He foolishly produces that, it doesn't make him a murderer," he said.
The trial continues on Wednesday.