Christopher Sawicki, seen here entering the Supreme Court in Corner Brook, N.L., on Tuesday, is on trial for the second-degree murder of his neighbour nearly two years ago. (CBC)

The widow of a man stabbed to death outside his home in Piccadilly on Newfoundland's west coast in 2008 says the man accused of the crime had a wild look in his eyes on the night of the killing.

Joan Benoit was one of the first witnesses to testify at the second-degree murder trial of Christopher Sawicki, which began Tuesday at the Supreme Court in Corner Brook, N.L.

Sawicki, 49, has pleaded not guilty in the death of George Benoit, who was 57 when he was fatally stabbed on April 24, 2008.

Benoit told the court Tuesday that before her husband's death, Sawicki, a neighbour who the Benoits had befriended, was often delusional.

She testified that he thought he was a werewolf and he would crawl around on his stomach.

Other times, she told the court, he would complain that birds were spying on him.

Benoit said the night her husband was killed, Sawicki had a wild look in his eyes.

She said her husband's last words to her were, "I never thought Chris would do that to me."

Although Sawicki has pleaded not guilty, the trial began Tuesday with the jury being read an agreed statement of facts that identified him as the killer.

The statement said that Benoit and his wife were sleeping in their home in Piccadilly in the early morning hours of April 24, 2008, when they were awakened by the sound of Sawicki smashing a window with a fire extinguisher.

The statement said Sawicki was demanding the keys to their SUV.

George Benoit left the house to talk to Sawicki, according to the statement, and that's when Sawicki, who the court heard had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2004, stabbed him.

The court was told Benoit was stabbed a total of 30 times.

The jury — comprising eight women and four men — is being asked to decide whether Sawicki can be held criminally responsible for his actions.

The trial will continue on Wednesday.