Convicted killer Troy Lee Shorter told the jury in the Aaron Easton murder trial yesterday that when the accused Stanford Archibald described the killing to him in 1986 he did not believe him.

Archibald, 39, formerly of Somerset, denied killing Mr. Easton, whose body was found in a pool of blood on Laffan Street, Pembroke, on May 4, 1985.

Yesterday the Supreme Court jury also heard from the former assistant commissioner of Police, Wayne Perinchief, who was the officer in charge of Mr. Easton's murder investigation 18 years ago.

On Wednesday, Shorter's first day on the stand, he admitted to lying to defence counsel Mark Pettingill and Larry Mussenden, but yesterday claimed his reason for lying was because he was afraid of Rupert Elroy Archibald, Archibald's brother, who shared the same cell block.

But defence counsel pointed out that Rupert Archibald died on July 15, 2002 and yet he continued to lie to them after that.

The six woman, six man jury heard that Shorter, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Roger Redman in 1996, had been moved to a minimum security section of Westgate Correctional Facility.

Mr. Pettingill suggested that it was because of a "deal" since he will be up for parole in a year.

Shorter said the denial was for his personal safety and that parole was not guaranteed.

But, Mr. Pettingill reminded the witness of the Administrative Segregation section which was is there for a prisoner's protection.

Mr. Redman was killed in Hayward's Grocery in Warwick, during an armed robbery in 1986 in which the Archibald brothers, Stanford and Rupert, were also involved, although neither were convicted of the murder.

When he was in custody for the Redman murder, Shorter had told of Archibald's involvement in the Easton murder.

Shorter said he had been "associate friends" with Rupert Archibald when he met the accused.

He said on one occasion in Stanford Archibald's bedroom he had told him that he killed Mr. Easton.

Shorter claimed that Stanford Archibald had said he waited until it was late and the apartment was empty and then went in, attacked Mr. Easton, threw him outside a glass or a window and when the deceased was crawling away he dropped a concrete block on his head.

The jury heard that Shorter wanted to get out of prison by all means and had escaped from prison in 1991 and was on the run for five months.

He was hiding in an attic when he was captured, and said he would rather die than return to prison.

He then tried to commit suicide and tied a cable around his neck before leaping from the attic.

Mr. Pettingill is being assisted by Mr. Mussenden.

Representing the Crown is the DPP Mr. Ratneser, Crown counsel Mr. Wolffe and Cindy Clarke.

The case continues today before Acting Chief Justice Norma Wade-Miller.