Kyle Sousa denied being a hired henchman in the murder of Matthew Clarke when he underwent cross-examination by a prosecutor yesterday.

The 18-year-old is on trial alongside Shannon Tucker, 32, and Vernon Simons, 24, over the killing on the afternoon of April 8 last year.

The defendants are alleged to have stabbed Mr. Clarke 26 times and repeatedly hit him in the head with a metal bar, possibly in relation to a drug importation plot.

The victim was found dead in his bed at home in North Shore Road, Pembroke, by his girlfriend.

During his first day of evidence in his own defence on Monday, Sousa told Supreme Court he witnessed Tucker and Simons killing Mr. Clarke, and ran away because he got scared. Sousa said he later helped the pair dispose of the metal bar and the clothes they'd been wearing again because he was scared.

Cross-examining Sousa yesterday, Senior Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney accused him of lying and telling a "cartoon network story" about what happened.

The teenager agreed with the prosecutor that he lied to detectives in initial statements when he denied knowing anything about the killing. He also admitted that some of his evidence-in-chief on Monday was what he described as "over-expressed truth exaggerated truth".

However, he repeatedly denied being involved in the killing as do Simons and Tucker.

However, Simons and Tucker both told detectives during taped Police interviews previously played to the jury that they blamed Mr. Clarke for setting them up over the importation of some drugs.

These were found by the Police in machine parts addressed to construction company boss Tucker, who employed Simons at the time of the killing and Mr. Clarke in the past.

Tucker and Simons had been arrested over the drug find earlier in 2008 and were due to answer Police bail over that matter the afternoon of the murder. Sousa told the court on Monday that the pair appeared to be angry about that before they travelled to Mr. Clarke's home that day and perpetrated the crime.

Sousa, who was friends with Simons, said he knew he and Tucker were facing drugs allegations. Sousa said Tucker offered him $1,000 to kill a guy before they travelled to the Clarke residence. He stressed on Monday that he turned this offer down.

However, Mr. Mahoney suggested yesterday that this was a lie. He put it to Sousa that he indeed accepted the contract and assisted in the murder as a hired accomplice and lookout, despite not knowing Mr. Clarke.

The prosecutor claimed Sousa climbed over a garden wall and entered the victim's apartment leaving a footprint in the yard – after the other two went in through the door.

"While Vernon was hitting, you were stabbing. Shannon was stabbing too," alleged Mr. Mahoney.

Sousa replied: "Na, I'm not even involved with this stuff. I'm not the type of guy to be killing somebody." He insisted he did not know the victim, did not accept the $1,000 contract and did not have any motive to kill him.

However, Mr. Mahoney claimed Sousa indeed had a motive he was good friends with Simons at the time.

"You had a lot of motive. Your boy (Simons) was about to see the prospect of prison from that drug charge that he had," he claimed.

Sousa replied: "Like I said, that's between Vernon and Matthew and Shannon."

Mr. Mahoney continued: "And you're trying to help out your boy and earn a little money on the side. That's where the contract came in where you were offered $1,000 to assist the job."

Sousa denied this.

He'd told the jury during earlier evidence that he and Simons are no longer friends since the killing. He refuted Mr Mahoney's suggestion that he communicated with his ex-friend during the court session on Monday.

"Yesterday when you walked in you made a clucking sound at Vernon with your tongue," claimed the prosecutor, demonstrating this noise. "And he looked at you, and you smiled and winked at him."

"No way," replied Sousa. The case continues.