AN ELECTRICIAN denied yesterday that he killed a fellow Slovakian man who was stabbed in the doorway of a house in Bradford.

Stanislav Misko told a jury at Leeds Crown Court he had a drink with Marek Benak and others at a house in Great Horton Road but had left there and returned to the address where he was living in Horton Grange Road by 1am.

Once there, he said he made a coffee, spoke to his daughter, changed into pyjamas and fell asleep watching television without going out again.

“Did you kill Marek Benak,” asked Rupert Bowers QC, defending him.

“No,” replied Misko.

“Do you know who did,” asked his counsel. “I don’t know,” replied Misko.

The prosecution claim Misko had argued with Mr Benak at the house in Great Horton Road, returned home and armed himself with a knife before going back to the scene and stabbing Mr Benak when he came to the door.

Misko, 48, who later moved to Carlisle Road, Manningham denies murdering Mr Benak on October 23 last year.

He told the jury through an interpreter he was a qualified electrician and had been offered some work on a building site in Bradford and also did some work in a bakery.

On the night of October 22, he had bought some food on the way home from work but went out around 11.30pm to midnight to get some cigarettes.

He had walked to a Polish shop where the cigarettes were cheaper. After he came out of the shop, he said two men spoke to him who were Slovakian, they were Mr Benak and Patrick Demeter.

“Demeter said do you want to come round and have a drink? I said okay, I can but I can’t stop long - I have to go to work the next day.”

At the house, he found another man wearing a hat and a woman sitting in the living room. At first, the atmosphere was fine, he told the jury.

He was smoking and was given some wine. But he said some of the men were speaking in a language he did not understand.

At one point the other man with the hat and Mr Benak suddenly argued and that man jumped up and hit Mr Benak so he fell over and hit the wall.

The man got hold of Mr Benak and he said he and Mr Demeter split them up and the woman was shouting.

Misko told the jury he decided to leave and then walked home and did not go out again.

Mr Bowers said the jury had been shown CCTV footage of four different journeys and asked: “Did any of those journeys show you?”

“No,” replied Misko.

The trial continues.