A MAN accused of murdering Christopher Lemonius told jurors he knows who beat the 27-year old to death but will not reveal their identities for fear of reprisal.

Six Oxford men all deny murder: Yasine Lamzini, Otman Lamzini, Rashaun Stoute, Yousef Koudoua, Connor Woodward and Carlos Spencer.

As their trial continued at Oxford Crown Court today one of the men, 25-year old Otman Lamzini, took to the witness box.

He told the court that while in the garden at a house on Jourdain Road on June 1 last year he had thrown punches at Mr Lemonius but that he had acted only in 'self defence' after he saw his brother Yasine, being attacked by Mr Lemonius.

He added that he, together with a group of his friends, had minutes earlier fled a nearby park after a gang of four masked men wielding weapons including a machete had set on them.

Speaking of the garden at Jourdain Road he said: "I saw him trying to strike my brother with a piece of wood and he had his arms up. I ran up to try and stop the person trying to attack my brother.

"I grabbed him, threw a few punches and couple of kicks and he was still trying to attack."

He said that he was then struck by the man – who he only later realised was Mr Lemonuis after a bandana he was wearing slipped – with a piece of wood.

Lamzini went on that another group of about five people then entered the back garden armed with weapons including a machete and golf clubs and attacked Mr Lemonius.

Asked by defence barrister Michael Borrelli QC if he would identity the men he said he would not ‘due to the fear of the consequences of mine and my family's safety.’

He added: "I witnessed and saw what these people are capable of. They are more than capable of doing what they did that night to me or my family."

The court went on to hear that Lamzini had tried to 'intervene' in the unfolding violence and at one point had shouted for the men to get out of the garden, and later tried to stop a lone assailant attacking Mr Lemonius with a machete.

He said: "It was brutal, a bad attack. I would not wish that on anyone. All i did was try to stop it. I did intervene, I pulled people off. Everything happened so fast."

Earlier in the hearing the court also heard how in the build-up to the attack Lamzini had been out 'celebrating' after completing a music project with friends and that the mood had been 'relaxed and chilled'.

The men all deny murder and the trial continues.