On June 4, 1975, Poppy described the family’s eight-inch kitchen butcher knife, noting its routine use and her awareness of its potential danger. During dishwashing, Vincent worked at the sink while Danny dried, deliberately crowding Vincent’s space following a vicious fight the brothers had a week earlier. Poppy recalled that since that fight, Vincent refused to sleep in the shared room and instead slept on Poppy’s floor, and he would not tell her what started the fight, though Poppy inferred it involved an abortion and that Danny had taunted Vincent about it.

Poppy had filmed the earlier fight, believing it marked the final break between the brothers, and she believed the house could no longer contain both. In the kitchen, Danny jostled Vincent’s arm as Vincent dipped the knife into soapy water, causing a cut on Vincent’s palm. Danny mocked Vincent with a grin and dismissive comments, part of a pattern of increasingly cruel behavior that adults might miss but which carried malice when unsupervised.

As the tension built, Poppy considered intervening but feared making it worse. She looked toward the living room for their parents but stayed still to avoid attention. Danny continued to taunt Vincent, culminating in a pointed reference to Lydia, which Vincent told Danny to stop. Poppy reflected that her role should evolve from spying on Vincent to capturing the full story, including Lydia, Danny, and Mr. Stewart, now that she had film capable of recording sound.

When Danny repeated Lydia’s name and swatted Vincent with the dish towel, Vincent spun and held the knife an inch from Danny’s chest. Danny stared at the trembling blade and, amused, told Vincent that if he pulled a knife, he had better be ready to use it. Danny then tossed the towel and walked out, leaving Vincent at the sink with the water running and steam fogging the window.