In 2018 an alleged fight broke out between two roommates over an accusation involving a stolen PlayStation and other items. The fight resulted in one of the roommates allegedly stabbing the other 17 times, taking his life. The accused roommate took the stand in his case on Wednesday.
Jake Bilotta, who was 22 when he was accused and charged of stabbing his 24-year-old ex-roommate Joshua Barnes, said he did so out of self-defense. He was fighting back tears on the witness stand.
While on the stand, Bilotta claimed he was chopping up marijuana with a knife when he heard a knock at his door. He went to open it with the knife still in his hand and found Barnes on the other side.
Seeing the knife, Bilotta claimed that Barnes screamed and tried to attack him. This resulted in Bilotta stabbing him in what he said was self-defense.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen,” Bilotta said from the stand.
Despite the emotional testimony from Bilotta, prosecutors claim that his version of events doesn't line up with the evidence collected.
Instead, they say that Barnes was lured to the home by Bilotta who was upset because items were missing from his home, including a PlayStation 4.
Law enforcement has said that Bilotta was caught in the act of killing Barnes by a friend who walked in. After being caught, he allegedly took off.
“My roommates, I don’t what this -- there was a problem with the kid that’s dead in the house right now. But I don’t know exactly what just happened. I just walked in the house, and they killed him,” the 911 caller was heard saying in a clip from 2018 played in the courtroom earlier this week.
Bilotta denied this version of events, saying he never lured Barnes to the home and that when he answered the door, Barnes overreacted in attacking him. He said that he felt a need to defend himself, so he stabbed him.
“He actually managed to get hold of my hand, and I was trying to pull away, but I was … starting to get nervous with what was going on in the scenario because things escalated,” Bilotta said. “It was basically 0-100.”
Ian McClurg, Bilotta’s co-conspirator who was believed to have helped plan the killing, pleaded no contest to tampering with evidence and accessory to murder in a 2020 plea deal. McClurg has also provided testimony on the events that conflicts with Bilotta's.
Prosecutors say this, paired with other witness testimony, pokes a hole in Bilotta’s defense.
Bilotta has been charged with first-degree murder.
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