2:42pm Monday 22nd March 2010
By Elizabeth Pears
CCTV footage showing the moments leading up to the murder of a Tottenham father-of-one is unclear to the point of becoming "dangerous".
With cameras more than 30 feet away from the crime, dimensions were skewered and blurry making it impossible to establish identities and what they were doing, Jane Humphreys QC, defending, said.
According to police investigators, the footage helps prove the case that Berkan Kart, 22, of Whitbred Close, Tottenham, was handed a screwdriver by an unidentified man before plunging it into the heart of 32-year-old Ali Toprak during a fight.
Mr Toprak then stumbled into an alcove near the Crescent nightclub, in West Kensington, on June 21, 2009, where he collapsed and slipped into unconciousness.
Ms Humphreys accused the police witness, who has spent up to 500 hours examining the stills, of focusing on finding things he wanted to see to prove the prosecution's case, while dismissing all other possibilities.
She said: "We cannot see what anyone is doing during that frame. Anything could be happening, but we don't know about it. That's the reality because we can't see it.
"This is a camera that is 30 feet away. The two arms that you claim are in contact, could in fact be someone simply crossing their arms. All you can see is an arm move.
"This is where the evidence can become dangerous, if I can say that."
Other acts of violence reported by eye witnesses at the scene including Mr Toprak having his long hair pulled, being fly-kicked, and his head banged repeatedly against metal railings, was also not captured on CCTV.
Berkan Kart denies murder. His younger brother, Bercin Kart, 21, denies violent public disorder.
Berkan Kart pleaded guilty to violent disorder but maintains he was not the one who carried out the fatal stabbing.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard a fight had broken out between the younger brother and Mr Toprak, of Waverly Road, Tottenham, outside the Turkish-themed event, culminating in a mass brawl.
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