Confronting video footage showing the moment 20-year-old Declan Laverty was fatally stabbed at a bottle shop in Darwin's northern suburbs has been played in court as a ten-day murder trial over his death begins.

Warning: This story contains graphic details of injuries.

Mr Laverty died in March 2023 while working at a BWS bottle shop in Jingli.

His death sparked outcry from the Northern Territory community and triggered protests and petitions calling on the government to "get tough on crime".

During the empanelment process, potential jurors were asked to disclose to the court whether they had attended the rallies or signed the petition and whether that would impact their impartiality. 

The man accused of Mr Laverty's death, Keith Kerinauia, has pleaded not guilty to murder over the stabbing, with his legal team set to argue he acted in self-defence when he stabbed the victim several times during the confrontation.

More than a dozen witnesses are expected to give evidence over the coming fortnight with the jury expected to be shown numerous CCTV clips, photos from the scene, and forensic evidence.

The victim's mother, Samara Laverty, is expected to give evidence next week.

During the prosecution's opening address, CCTV from cameras inside the bottle shop which captured the incident was played to the court.

On the request of the prosecution, the vision will not be made available to media until after the trail has concluded. 

Details of 'unsurvivable' stab wound heard in court

In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Marty Aust told the jury the case wasn't a "whodunnit" and said the accused's "sole intention" was to cause serious harm to Mr Laverty.

In a brief outline of the events leading up to Mr Laverty's death, Mr Aust said the confrontation had begun when Mr Laverty asked Mr Kerinauia to leave the bottle shop because he was not wearing shoes.

Mr Aust said Mr Kerinauia was "agitated" and threatened to stab Mr Laverty and his co-worker, before running to his car and returning moments later with a knife, which he said witnesses described as being "the length of a ruler".

Mr Laverty then produced a 5-centimetre "cutting blade" before the pair confronted each other on the shop floor.

Mr Aust told the jury Mr Laverty suffered five stab wounds, including one 10.5 cm deep cut into his right chest, which penetrated his lung and heart, causing "catastrophic blood loss".

Mr Kerinauia also suffered two "superficial" cuts during the incident.

Mr Aust foreshadowed evidence from witnesses who say they saw Mr Kerinauia "laughing" and "taunting" Declan Laverty as he fled the scene. 

Kerinauia's lawyers to argue self-defence

Mr Kerinauia's lawyer, John Tippett KC, described the Crown's opening as "an extraordinary case of selective interpretation of facts", urging the jury to analyse the video footage "without sympathy".

"Without that approach, this case cannot be properly decided," Mr Tippett told the court.

Mr Tippett said the defence would also rely heavily on CCTV footage, but said alternative angles would show Declan Laverty pull out a knife and take three steps towards the accused before the confrontation began.

"If you look at these videos from a proper angle, you might conclude that in fact Declan Laverty had a knife at head level and took three solid steps toward my client before Keith Kerinauia turned to engage him," he said.

"The prosecution didn't take you there because it's inconvenient at the outset of this case."

In his opening address, Mr Tippett explained that self-defence exists where the conduct carried out by the person is a reasonable response to the circumstances that he or she perceives.

The onus will be on the prosecution to disprove the defence beyond reasonable doubt.

The trial continues on Tuesday.