THE teenager accused of murdering Blayne Ridgway outside a city bar has denied even knowing the 22-year-old had been stabbed.

The defendant, who the Oxford Mail is banned from naming, admitted at Oxford Crown Court yesterday he had been in a fight with Mr Ridgway outside Que Pasa, in Queen Street, in the early hours of May 8.

But when asked if he had fatally stabbed the father-of-one, the defendant denied he had.

Nicholas Rhodes, defending, asked him: “Did you have a knife on you on the night in question?”

The defendant replied: “No.”

He was then asked: “Did anyone give you a knife?”

He replied: “No.”

Finally, Mr Rhodes asked: “Did you stab Blayne Ridgway?”

He answered: “No.”

Mr Ridgway died in hospital after the attack The defendant admitted he had been in a scuffle with Mr Ridgway in the smoking area outside Que Pasa shortly after 3am.

He also admitted throwing a punch at him, but said he couldn’t be sure if it made any contact.

He said: “Well we were in each other’s faces, basically squaring up to each other.

“Then he pushed me and I stumbled back against the door and I pushed him back, like, but he had my jacket.

“We pushed each other back and further, like, and I was getting pushed back by the crowd so I tried to get out of there.”

The defendant added: “There were a lot of people in between us and we were just trying to get to each other.”

He then said he had tried to throw a punch over someone’s shoulder, but could not remember if it had made contact.

Following the fight, CCTV images showed the defendant leaving the scene. He said he “jogged” to a friend’s house, but was unaware Mr Ridgway had been stabbed.

He said: “Well obviously I left the scene, innit, because at the time, there was a lot of people watching. There was people around and I did not want to get arrested because I am known to the police.”

Mr Rhodes asked: “When you left the scene, did you have any idea he had incurred any injury?”

The defendant replied: “No.”

He said: “I had only had a fight with him and punched him so when people told me he was dead, I was shocked.”

Ben Gumpert, prosecuting, alleged the defendant had inflicted the fatal blow. But the defendant said: “I did not stab him, I punched him.”

He handed himself in at St Aldate’s police station later that night.

The trial continues.