A jury was told yesterday they must question if stabbing victim Samuel Marriott-Gray was right when he named a man as his attacker.o Leonard Morrison, 37, of Bath Street, in Oxford - known as Goldteeth or G - denies stabbing Samuel Marriott-Gray, 21, in the skull last year.

The jury at Oxford Crown Court has been told that Mr Marriott-Gray said "Goldteeth did it" before lapsing into a coma after being stabbed outside a party in Pegasus Road, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, last August.

Mr Marriott-Gray, from Blackbird Leys, is expected to remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. But summing up the defence case yesterday, Judy Khan told the jury Mr Marriott-Gray was mistaken as to the identity of his attacker.

Many of the prosecution witnesses, who are family members of Mr Marriott-Gray, did not see him being stabbed because their view was obscured by up to 20 people fighting in the street, she added.

Miss Khan said: "That he said it is not in dispute. But that he said it is the very reason some of the witnesses were prepared to lie about what they saw to confirm what Samuel said.

"Could Samuel have been wrong? We have had no opportunity to explore with him why did he think Goldteeth had done it."

Miss Khan described to the jury the scene outside the Blues Party as "fast-moving ensuing chaos" with many people in the street. She said: "It seems the family genuinely believe the defendant was to blame.

"Could it be the case that some of them chose to add a little bit to their evidence and embellish or lie to get, what they say, is justice for Samuel?

"It's unsurprising they wouldn't consider that Samuel got it wrong. It is a close-knit family if one person had a problem it was everyone's. People may have been prepared to pick up the baton and run with it."

Yesterday, the trial also heard from Miss Khan that tests by forensic scientist Dr Tanya Claxton revealed no evidence of Morrison's DNA on the knife.

Samples taken from the handle and clip of the weapon showed DNA belonging to Mr Marriott-Gray and a second man who was not Morrison. Miss Khan said: "There is no scientific link between the knife and the defendant. There is no evidence to suggest the defendant's DNA is on the knife."

Judge Julian Hall summed up the case and sent the jury of six women and five men out to begin deliberating over their verdict yesterday afternoon.

The trial continues.