Murder-accused Antoine Anderson told a jury that tapes of him secretly recorded inside Westgate are not all they seem.

As The Royal Gazette reported yesterday, prosecutors claim he can be heard threatening to harm his sister Tyeasha Cameron for speaking to the Police about the Aquil Richardson shooting.

Yesterday, when he took the stand at Supreme Court in his own defence, Anderson agreed he could be heard on tape telling a female visitor: "If Tyeasha says anything I'm gonna shot her, hear me."

He also agreed he told his visitor who cannot be named for legal reasons: "When I catch Tyeasha, I'm going to hit her so hard, hear me and when I catch her. For what she told those lot can't go no further. Because to shot her, it's gonna hurt me so for me to do it, but it's gonna hurt her."

However, Anderson told the jury his words should not be taken literally.

"It was alleged that Tyeasha, my sister, was going around saying things to the Police that wasn't true and I was mad at the time, and I said that I would hit her even though I wouldn't hurt her," he claimed.

"To 'shot her' is a figure of speech – 'I'll shot her box' or something like that. I wouldn't harm my sister, but basically I was just rambling on."

Anderson is charged, along with Tyeasha's husband Philip Bradshaw, with shooting 30-year-old Aquil Richardson dead in Southampton on December 26 2007. They deny the allegation.

The taping was done inside Westgate by a prison officer at the behest of the Police on March 8 2008, four days after they were charged and remanded into custody.

The trial has heard how Ms Cameron told detectives her brother and husband were at home with her at the time of the shooting. This is the version of events that Anderson also gave the Police in an interview.

Yesterday, however, he told the court this was a lie told in a panic because he could not prove that he was really in St. George's at the time.

Anderson was also quizzed about a passage in the prison tape where he can be heard telling his visitor: "But when you go to court, baby listen to me, two guys are coming in for her and (inaudible) so when you coming in, if you say one more word coming in. Right. Listen to me, she's dead, she got children, they're going too. I can't do nothing about it."

He told the jury this was a reference to Malika Gumbs, who has testified against him in the case, and her friend named Mylinda Johnson. But, he claimed: "Now, the jury and the court know Malika is not doing anything to assist me. At that time, there was a rumour going around that Malika was helping me so they (people in jail) were threatening to harm people."

He dismissed other passages where he is heard discussing evidence as chat based on statements in the case he'd received from his lawyer. He explained that he whispered to his visitor because there are "poky inmates" in Westgate who eavesdrop on conversations.

Anderson is set to continue his evidence today.