A 23-year-old man accused of murdering Ipswich teenager Tavis Spencer-Aitkens looked at his father across the courtroom and told him: “I wasn’t involved in your son’s death.”

Giving evidence at Ipswich Crown Court Aristote Yenge denied murdering 17-year-old Tavis and said: “I send my condolences to his family. I feel sad but I wasn’t involved.

“If they are looking for someone to blame I’m not to blame.”

He then turned to the public gallery where Tavis’s father Neville Aitkens was sitting and told him: “I’ll look you in the eye and tell you I’m not to blame for your son’s death. I wasn’t involved in your son’s death.”

Yenge, 23, of Spring Road, Ipswich, Ipswich; Adebayo Amusa, 20, of Sovereign Road, Barking; Callum Plaats, 23, of Ipswich; Isaac Calver, 19, of Firmin Close, Ipswich; Leon Glasgow, 42, of no fixed abode; and a 16-year-old boy have all denied murdering Tavis on June 2.

During his evidence Yenge claimed he was in Constantine Road in Ipswich at about the time Tavis was attacked in Packard Avenue.

Yenge was shown CCTV footage of people walking along Constantine Road at around the time he claimed he was there and accepted none of them was him.

He denied lying about being in Constantine Road at that time and denied he had in fact been in Packard Avenue when Tavis was stabbed.

He told the court he had been called a “snitch” and believed his life was in danger because of evidence he had given in court which implicated a man called “M” in Tavis’s murder.

Yenge said on the day Tavis was stabbed he went to Iris Close in a van to deal drugs and had left his jumper in the vehicle.

He claimed a man called “M” who was in the van had put his jumper on before going in the van to Packard Avenue where Tavis was attacked.

Yenge told the court: “I definitely didn’t kill Tavis. I’m innocent. I’m here because of a jumper. I didn’t kill nobody.”

It is alleged the murder was the result of rivalry between the ‘J-Block’ and ‘Neno’ groups for what J-Block perceived to be a loss of respect after a row between two of their friends and two of Tavis’ friends earlier that day.

The trial continues.