Or was it Mr Carroll, a man with a history of violence and a propensity to use weapons, who was initially armed with the blade before Ms Hickson disarmed him and, fearing for her life, twice stabbed him in the chest.

It is one of the crucial questions that a jury will have to answer as they look to determine whether Ms Hickson was defending herself when she stabbed her dad during a volatile argument at a house in Ronald Street.

Ms Hickson, now 25, does not deny stabbing her father, but has pleaded not guilty to murder and claims she was acting in self-defence after her father advanced towards her armed with a knife after she insulted him.

The prosecution case is that Ms Hickson was angry at her father for abusing her in front of her friends and was not defending herself when she stabbed him.

The jury will retire to begin deliberating on Tuesday.

IN THE NEWS: