One of the men accused of the 2017 murder of Brandon Pace, told the police that he was threatened by the victim months before the incident, and also on the day of the fight itself, a senior police official testified on Monday.

Keith Arnaud said that on the day of the fatal stabbing, Pace had stood on the balcony of his Hamrun residence and was heard shouting out to the accused Kurt Grech, 31 :“Ibqa hemm isfel, għax illum noqtlok” (Stay down there, because today, I will kill you).

While his parents tried calming Grech down after an argument involving his child, he told them to stop interfering and that “illum irrid nagħlaqa, min jibqa’, jibqa’.” (This stops today).

Details of the events were given when the trial by jury of Kurt Grech, known as ‘in-Nemes’ and his father, Joseph Grech, 61, continued before Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera. The two are charged with wilful homicide in Giovanni Barbara Street, Ħamrun.

They are also charged with threatening the victim’s mother, Lisa Pace, and partner Jessica Bilocca. Kurt Grech has been further charged with grievously injuring Bilocca with a knife. The two have a son. Joseph Grech is accused of threatening the victim’s sister, Donna Pace, with a knife during the argument. Both men are pleading not guilty.

Arnaud recounted how the fight that led to the fatal stabbing was sparked by an argument about access to the young child, son of Jessica Bilocca and the accused Kurt Grech. The argument began between Bilocca and Kurt’s mother over the phone.

Before the incident, there was never any trouble between the two families and the grandparents always reached an agreement on what was best for the minor.

CCTV footage showed Kurt Grech carrying knives

Arnaud said the police gathered CCTV footage from the Grechs' residence, which showed Kurt Grech entering the residence and moments later walking out with two knives in his hand. One of the knives, with a yellow handle, matched a knife set found in the home.

The police later recovered the bloody knives dumped close to the Grechs' residence after being led to the spot by following a trail of blood.

Kurt Grech told police during the interrogation that he had not intended to use  the knives, but took them with him as he knew Brandon Pace had a bad temperament and he needed to defend himself.

Kurt Grech admitted to stabbing Pace but insisted that it was the victim who stabbed him first, in the chest, as his mother was trying to push him away.

Grech ended up on the floor with Pace and he was hitting out with the knife “wherever it landed”. He ended up stabbing Jessica in the foot as she tried to stop the fight.

Grech also said he saw Pace get up and then fall on the floor again. That was when he left the scene.

Arnaud said when Kurt Grech was asked whether his father was carrying a knife, he said his father had no knives at all during the fight.

Arnaud said CCTV footage taken from security cameras in Giovanni Barbara Street did not capture the actual fight but captured the moment Kurt Grech and his parents arrived on the scene.

During the interrogations, the father and son recalled the “trouble” Kurt Grech faced with his ex-partner, Jessica Bilocca. Both said that months before the fight, Bilocca had punched Kurt Grech with a knuckle duster while Pace was present. At one point, Bilocca posted a photo of Kurt Grech on social media, followed by threatening messages.

In one of the posts, Brandon had commented “I will sort him out”.

Joseph Grech had told the police that weeks before the incident, Pace and Bilocca went to look for Kurt at his workplace, but he was not there at the time.

Arnaud said he had asked both why no report was made to the police following the incidents, especially why a domestic violence report was not filed when Bilocca punched Pace. Both said they did not want to involve the police as it would only escalate the situation.

The trial continues.

Lawyers Roberto Montalto, Katheleen Grima and Edward Gatt are defence counsel while lawyers Rachel Tua and Ishmael Psaila are representing the victim’s family. Lawyers Kevin Valletta and Kaylie Bonett, from the Attorney General’s office, are prosecuting.