THE mother of a murdered teenager said speaking at the trial of his accused killer has been “harrowing.”

Rhian Sebbage is with her husband Andy and son Steven in Greece for the trial of Stelios Morfis, who was charged with murdering her 18-year-old son Robert in July last year.

Robert, who was on holiday with friends, was fatally stabbed when the taxi driver allegedly went berserk with a knife. Last Monday, Mrs Sebbage stood before the court in the port city of Patras to describe how her son’s death had devastated her life. She told The Gazette : “I didn’t look at him (Morfis). I can’t face him and I find it difficult to look at his family. There are so many of them, and I have never felt so intimidated.”

Mr and Mrs Sebbage flew to Greece on September 1 along with Robert’s friends who were on holiday with him, and who gave evidence in court last week.

Callum Lane, Steven Granston and Jordan Manson, who were also stabbed during the attack, gave evidence on the second day of the trial, in which Dimosthenes Mylonas is also in the dock, charged as an accomplice. But Robert’s friends had to return to England last Wednesday because the fund paying for them to be in Greece has been used up.

The Sebbage family and friends have worked tirelessly since their son’s death to raise money for Out of The Blue – a fund they set up to pay for an English speaking lawyer to represent them in court and to pay for them and the key witnesses to be at the trial. They were told the hearing should only last a week, but Mrs Sebbage said that of the 10 days they have been in Greece, the family and Robert’s friends have only sat in court for four.

She added: “We have run out of money. We had to make the decision about what to do and the boys had to go home.”

In court last week, 22-year-old Morfis’ family apologised to Robert’s parents for what happened. But Mrs Sebbage, from Weyhill Close, Tadley said: “No one can understand what we have been through.”

She is not allowed to reveal details of the trial, but is concerned that some of the evidence is being misinterpreted in translation. Mrs Sebbage said the Greek court system is different to that in Britain, and she has often had to sit on the floor during the trial, while Morfis’ family are allowed to sit with him.

She added: “His handcuffs are taken off him and all his family are around him, surrounding him. It’s rubbing insult into the wound. I struggle with that.”