The family of a witness in the trial of Dunedin doctor Venod Skantha say they were told their lives were in danger after 16-year-old Amber-Rose Rush was found dead in her bed.
On Monday the teenage witness' grandmother told the court her grandson told her to lock her doors and windows as his "best friend" Skantha had killed Amber-Rose and could kill her too.
The Crown alleges 32-year-old Skantha murdered 16-year-old Amber-Rose in February 2018 to silence her allegations of sexual harassment against him.
The junior doctor is also accused of threatening to kill the witness and his family.
The witness's mother said days after Amber-Rose's body was discovered, her son told her not to return home.
"I got a call from a private number but it was [the witness]. Our home number comes up as private," she told the court.
"[The witness] warned me not to come home," she continued.
"My life was pretty much in danger and I would be killed if I did."
Ignoring the warning, she returned home to be with her son.
An hour after the warning, she says Skantha arrived at her house.
"He looked very dazed, very confused," she told the court.
"He looked like he couldn't figure out why [the witness] wasn't there."
She says Skantha was looking for her son.
"I made out I didn't know where he was."
She said Skantha seemed dazed and confused, but eventually left.
The teenage witness also called his father and asked him to leave town the court heard.
"Quite out of character for him," his father said on Monday.
He says his son told him Skantha had killed Amber-Rose, and he was "panicked" about texts he was receiving from the doctor.
Skantha denies all four charges against him.
The trial continues.
