THE owner of a house where a teenager was killed at a party has revealed he was told one of the partygoers had a knife.

He was supervising the party for youngsters at his home in Marlowe Way, Colchester, when violence flared in an alley.

Jay Whiston, 17, was fatally stabbed.

The homeowner, who cannot be named after a judge put on order banning his identification, told Chelmsford Crown Court he did not know something was wrong until he saw the flashing lights of an emergency vehicle.

Moments later, the homeowner saw partygoers at the front of his house and others gathering next door.

He told a jury: “It was all a bit of a commotion.”

He then discovered a teenager had been stabbed and was lying near the door of his next door neighbour’s house.

He said: “Someone said they had seen a male with a knife.”

The man was giving evidence on the third day of the trial of Edward Redman, 18.

Mr Redman denies murdering Jay outside the party on September 8, 2012.

The homeowner told the trial how steps had been taken to make sure the party was for invited youngsters only.

It was advertised on a private Facebook page, food and soft drinks were provided and there was some low alcohol lager available.

Black and yellow tape had been placed around some uneven paving stones on a patio and more tape along with no entry signs had been placed in areas of the house banned to guests.

They were restricted to the conservatory, kitchen and toilet areas and the homeowner spent his time supervising those.

At one point he ejected a teenager after a fight broke out and the teenager threw a dustbin lid at him.

After this, he said he continued to patrol the party, until the flashing emergency lights alerted him ten minutes later.

He said: “I saw a paramedic and some of the partygoers were hanging about in the area of the alley.”

He returned to his house and started ushering people out and telling them the party was over.

At this point, he said someone told him a male had been seen earlier on with a knife.

The trial has heard Redman and his group had brought an air of unease and tension to the party and were spreading an air of fear.

They were slightly older than many of the 100-plus people there and had been drinking earlier in the evening, the court has heard.

Redman is alleged to have stabbed Jay in the chest after he stepped in to protect a friend in a row over a bottle of drink.

Redman told police he had been at the party, but was not armed with a knife and did not stab Jay.

The trial continues.