Scott David DeAngelo, a 34-year-old mechanic on trial in the 2022 slaying of his 33-year-old roommate by stabbing him in the neck before setting fire to their rented Pearl City apartment and jumping from the burning fourth-floor unit, testified Tuesday and Wednesday before closing statements.

DeAngelo, the sole witness offered by the defense, admitted to grabbing his fishing knife out of his bag and stabbing Demond Cox in the neck, but said he did it out of self-defense because Cox was acting strangely, argued with him, pointed a handgun at him then, after grappling with him, stabbed him in the arms with a kitchen knife.

After hearing the state’s 44 witnesses and DeAngelo, a Circuit Court jury began deliberating Wednesday afternoon on whether DeAngelo is guilty of first-degree arson and second-degree murder in the death of Cox, a mechanical engineer, who ran a Turo car rental business.

(The judge granted the defense’s motion to dismiss a firearm charge because the handgun was inoperable.)

Deputy Prosecutor Kyle Mesa, in his closing argument, said Cox had given DeAngelo a target move-out date because he had Julian Rosario and another friend from out of town coming to stay with him on that day, Feb. 7, 2022, which Rosario confirmed.

“We may not know exactly what happened in unit 407, but we do know that (the) defendant knew he was wrong,” and explained his actions or inaction as “consciousness of guilt,” Mesa said. DeAngelo never called police or asked neighbors for help or waited for Emergency Medical Services or the Fire Department. Instead, he drove 33 miles until he alleges he ran out of gas. Even though he left Lehua Avenue at 9 p.m. and had until 5 p.m. the next day when he was found by some men, he did nothing to seek help or go to the police.

Mesa said there were many inconsistencies in his testimony.

He also claimed someone picked him up in Hauula, then saw blood on his shirt and heard his story, then didn’t want to get involved, which Mesa says didn’t make sense.

Although DeAngelo said Cox held the gun, it was Deangelo’s DNA on the trigger that was a match, but no contributions by Cox, according to an expert, Mesa said.

He suggests that he removed his shirt because it was soaked in Cox’s blood and removed a ring on his right hand and got rid of it because he stabbed Cox with his right hand.

Mesa pointed out that the cuts on his arm were likely from the bushes he fell on, not knife wounds.

DeAngelo also said during cross-examination that he grabbed his fishing knife from his bag, but said during his earlier testimony that he had left the bag near the door. In cross-examination, he said he also picked up 21 bullets off the couch, which Mesa said didn’t make sense if he was scared.

He also was found with Cox’s credit card.

Neighbors of Cox’s fourth-floor apartment at 906 Lehua Avenue reported hearing a struggle at 8:12 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. that night.

Mesa said, “That’s when the defendant pulled a gun on Cox and tried to kill him.”

Neighbors heard agonized screaming, when DeAngelo stabbed him, and the wrestling and arguing ceased because “Cox had been killed,” Mesa said.

DeAngelo tried to leave, but got caught by neighbor Aubrey Barnes, who happened to see the defendant outside the front door.

Barnes testified he looked surprised, closed the screen door and pointed a gun at Barnes, Mesa said.

“He had been seen,” Mesa said. “He couldn’t just leave.”

So he went back inside and created kindling at Cox’s feet, starting a fire with papers, books, ammunition, and other material.

“He needs more fuel so he grabs a mattress from the bedroom,” throws some ammunition on it and the popping sounds are consistent with what neighbors heard.

The Honolulu Fire Department said Cox must have been dead by the time of the fire because there was no smoke in his lungs, and only the exterior of his body was burned. The back of his shirt and shorts were preserved because he was lying on his back.

DeAngelo, a Naples, Fla., native and self-described “European specialist technician” who repairs European cars, met Cox after repairing his car. Cox was looking for a roommate, and in July 2022, DeAngelo sublet a portion of his apartment for $300.

On Feb. 7, 2022, Cox’s two visiting friends arrived.

But Mesa said it doesn’t make sense Cox would make arrangements for the two to stay with him in the one-bedroom apartment where there was a pull-out bed in the living room while DeAngelo was still there.

They went hiking, and when they returned, DeAngelo’s belongings were still there, Mesa said.

DeAngelo said that Cox was upset, asking where he went and who he saw, and had acted jumpy when he got home from a trip to the store.

“He looked at me and said, ‘You don’t care about anything do you? Everything’s a big joke to you.’”

DeAngelo said he told him to relax and laughed at him, saying Cox should come with him and get some food and drink.

DeAngelo said he went into the bathroom, and when he came out Cox was pointing a handgun at him. The two wrestled, and he said he grabbed Cox’s forearm. The gun fell in the bathroom, and DeAngelo said he locked himself inside. After hearing things slam around and furniture moving, things got quiet, and heard the front door open, so he tried to run out.

He said there was a pile of bullets on the couch, he pushed the couch out of the way, grabbed the bullets and ran out, but was confronted by Barnes.

DeAngelo said Cox had a big kitchen knife, said he was going to kill DeAngelo, so DeAngelo grabbed his right forearm, and they scuffled and DeAngelo fell.

DeAngelo said: “I was terrified. I felt the knife digging into my arm,” he said, displaying scars on his arm.

That’s when he said he grabbed his fishing knife and stabbed Cox once in the neck.

He said he saw a light moving while they were wrestling. He went to open the lanai door, and heard popping sounds and the couch was smoldering, and it and the mattress went up in flames.

He said he tried to break out the window in the bedroom, using the gun.

He tried to reach for a ledge and jump up for the roof, but ended up falling four stories, landing in the bushes and the curb.

He drove Cox’s white Mazda on the H-2 freeway until he ran out of gas, he said.