Construction boss Shannon Tucker yesterday claimed fellow murder defendants Kyle Sousa and Vernon Simons threatened that they would harm his family if he told Police they killed Matthew Clarke.

Tucker claims he was an innocent bystander at the scene of the murder at Mr. Clarke's home in North Shore Road on April 9 last year. However, according to prosecutors all three men participated in stabbing and beating the 31-year-old songwriter to death.

Giving evidence in his own defence on Friday, Tucker, 33, told the Supreme Court that his employee Simons, 24, hit Mr. Clarke on the back of the head in anger at being made to take the blame over a busted drugs importation plot.

After trying to assist the victim, Tucker said he then found himself locked out of the room after a masked Kyle Sousa, 18, arrived on the scene.

Continuing his evidence yesterday, he said he could not be sure of the role each man played in the attack as the door closed on him and he did not see what happened. However, he believes both are responsible for the death of Mr. Clarke, a father-of-two.

Previously, Simons has told the jury Sousa carried out the killing because he had been promised $1,000 by Tucker. Sousa has claimed that Tucker and Simons both did the killing.

In answer to questions yesterday from his lawyer, Owen Davies QC, Tucker said he went to the Police station after witnessing the killing to answer bail on the drugs matter, for which he had also been arrested. He did not tell the Police at that time what he had seen.

When he came back to Simons' house, where he had parked his truck, he said: "Vernon and Kyle, both of them they was acting aggressive towards me. They was asking me did I say anything to the Police. I told them no. They said if I did say anything, they was gonna deal with my family. At that time, both of them was acting aggressive. They asked me to take off my jacket and sweater and they patted me down because they thought I had a wire."

Tucker said after this the pair went upstairs with his clothes and came back with a black trash bag, telling him to take it to the incinerator. He told the court he did so, with Sousa accompanying him to make sure he disposed of the bag.

Tucker told the court he later "dashed home" to check his three children were alright.

He claimed on Friday that he'd known father-of-two Mr. Clarke for 15 years and was godfather to his oldest son. Yesterday, prosecutor Carrington Mahoney disputed this. He suggested that Tucker was also angry with Mr. Clarke over the drugs bust.

"You are not really godfather to any children. You're just concocting a story to say all was well with Matthew at the time of his death," alleged Mr. Mahoney.

Tucker denied this.

Prosecutors have previously suggested that Tucker who employed Simons and Sousa may have been the "boss" in respect of the crime too. Tucker agreed with Mr. Mahoney yesterday that he considers himself more intelligent than the other two.

The prosecutor continued: "You seriously want this jury to believe that when you returned from the Police station on April 9, they were sitting there telling you what to say and what not to say and etc and etc?"

"That's correct," replied Tucker.

"Who was the boss?" asked Mr. Mahoney.

"I was the boss in my work but they was the boss in what they done," replied the defendant.

All three men deny murder, and the case continues.