MICHAEL Baldwin pushed his stepdaughter Jenna Brookfield, pictured, down the stairs then bought her silence after she blackmailed him, his trial heard yesterday.

A friend of Jenna's told Cardiff crown court the incident happened at Jasmine Cottage, Ffrwd Road, Abersychan, early last year.

Baldwin, 36, formerly of Limekiln Road, Pontnewynydd, denies murdering Jenna between September 3 -11 last year.

The girl claimed she was in Jenna's bedroom with another friend, waiting for the 15-year-old to get ready.

They were planning on going drinking in Abersychan Park, the court heard.

The teenager, who cannot be named, said Baldwin pushed Jenna down the stairs after an argument.

It was alleged Jenna then threatened to tell mum Desiree unless Baldwin gave her money.

The youngster gave her pre-recorded evidence yesterday via video link.

She told the jury of eight men and four women that the argument erupted after Jenna's eight-year-old half sister started "winding her up".

The teenager told the court Jenna referred to her half sister and 10-year-old half brother as "brats" and said she "hated" her stepfather.

The three girls were in Jenna's room when her younger sister came in and started throwing things.

The girl claimed Jenna slapped her sister around the legs and the eight-year-old went crying to Baldwin, who was downstairs watching television.

The girl said: "Mike came upstairs and started shouting."

Jenna, her friend claims, went out to the landing and came face to face with him. The two friends remained in the bedroom but could see on to the landing and the top two stairs.

The girl said: "They were face to face. He slapped her in the face. She started swearing at him.

"He pushed her down the stairs. She hurt her neck."

Baldwin went downstairs and Jenna then allegedly walked back up to the top, sat on the stairs and said: "Give me money now or I'm telling Mam."

The witness went on: "Then he gave her £10."

The police officer interviewing the teenager for the video tape asked if the girl saw Baldwin hit Jenna.

She said: "He just whacked her in the face, like. She was going mad - swearing at him. "He was, like, up in her face, like. He threw her. We saw her."

The girl said Jenna made a "Argh" noise as she allegedly fell and claimed to hear a "banging" sound as she tumbled.

The girl added: "She (Jenna) said, 'the p**** threw me down the stairs'."

Baldwin and Jenna then argued about whether her friends should leave - Baldwin wanted them to go, the court heard.

The girl said in her evidence she and her friend decided to leave and wait for Jenna outside.

During cross-examination by video link, Peter Murphy QC, defending, asked how Jenna's sister aggravated them.

"She was jumping on us and throwing stuff at us like toys and pulling our hair," the girl said.

He asked what Jenna did about it, and the teenager replied: "She slapped her on the leg and told her to go back downstairs."

Mr Murphy asked: "She didn't slap her in the face or hit her in the face?"

The girl said: "I'm positive she didn't."

Mr Murphy suggested Jenna struck her sister on the face and her nose bled.

The girl said: "No."

Asked if she could hear the little girl telling her father what had happened, she said: "Yes. Jenna turned the music off so she could hear what she was saying."

Mr Murphy asked if she was sure Baldwin had slapped Jenna when he came up the stairs.

She replied: "Yes. It wasn't very hard and then she started swearing and all."

Mr Murphy said: "As they passed each other on the stairs she pushed him, he pushed her back and she sat down on one of the stairs.

"That is what happened, isn't it?"

She said: "No."

Mr Murphy asked if she could see more than the top two steps from where she was sat in Jenna's bedroom.

The girl said: "No."

Mr Murphy asked why she did not check if Jenna was okay, she said: "It was just between them."

Huw Evans, prosecuting, asked her how she felt about what happened.

She replied: "I was shocked."

Mr Evans said: "Did you feel like you could do anything to intervene?"

The girl said: "No, I didn't know what to do."

The girl also told the court that Jenna was in a fight with a girl from London during the summer holidays before she went missing.

Mr Murphy asked if she had mentioned the incident with the stairs when police officers spoke to her about the fight, but the witness said they had only asked her about that particular incident.

Proceeding.