A man accused of murdering a drug-dealing army veteran says the fatal stabbing occurred due to his "reflexes" after the victim grabbed and threatened to kill him.
Raymond Allen, 41, is on trial charged with murder over the fatal stabbing of David McArthur, 48, at a caravan park at Sanctuary Point, in southern NSW, in July 2021.
Allen admits stabbing the veteran but claims he acted in self-defence.
On Friday, Allen told the NSW Supreme Court in Wollongong he initially planned with another man to rob Mr McArthur three days before the veteran's death.
Allen could not remember why the robbery was not carried out but conceded he went to Mr McArthur's home on July 25 with the same man.
That man, the court heard, was tasked with disabling the cabin's lights, while Allen, shirtless, went to the residence with a knife to rob Mr McArthur of "drugs or money".
Allen said when he reached the door Mr McArthur grabbed him by the throat, cutting off his breathing, before saying: "I'm gonna kill you c***".
The alleged murderer said at that point his "reflexes just went like that" and he did not realise he had stabbed the veteran with a large kitchen knife.
"I remember just putting the knife straight," Allen told the court.
"Everything just happened so bloody quick."
Allen said the first time he saw blood was when Mr McArthur put his hand on his chest.
After the incident, which felt like it took seconds, the accused said he took off from the scene.
"I wasn't really thinking," he said.
"I didn't even realise I'd done it."
He denied deliberately stabbing Mr McArthur to cause him injury and rejected that he could have got free by twisting out of his grasp.
"I didn't know what to bloody do, I was trying to breathe," Allen said.
Asked why he did not help the injured man, Allen said he was worried Mr McArthur would kill him and so: "I just ran for me life".
On the drive back to Nowra, Allen said he apologised for "f***ing up" the robbery but did not take the advice of another man in the car to throw the knife away.
He rejected claims that a text he sent later about "something funny" was in reference to the bloody knife and denied taking it to a relative's place to show him.
Allen told others he did not expect the ex-servicemen to fight back and that he only went to the home to rob him, the court heard.
He denied there was planning involved in the proposed robbery of Mr McArthur, whom he described as a "real big guy" and "crazy".
Asked if he started to panic after learning Mr McArthur had died, Allen said "of course".
The trial continues on Tuesday before Justice Desmond Fagan.
