Murder-accused Shannon Tucker yesterday told how he tried in vain to stop his old friend Matthew Clarke being brutally attacked by co-defendant Vernon Simons.

Tucker told Supreme Court Simons hit Mr. Clarke on the back of the head in his bedroom because he was furious at being made to take the rap for a drugs importation scheme which went wrong.

After trying to assist the victim, Tucker said he then found himself locked out of the room when a masked intruder — which turned out to be third defendant eighteen-year-old Kyle Sousa — arrived on the scene.

He said he heard Mr. Clarke's cries for help but couldn't get back in. Shortly afterwards, he said he saw songwriter Mr. Clarke's battered body propped against a wall and all three co-defendants left in Tucker's blue truck.

The jury has previously heard Mr. Clarke, 31, was found dead on his bed on April 9 last year, after he had been stabbed 26 times and battered in the head with a metal bar.

Previously, Simons, 24, has told the jury Sousa carried out the killing at Mr. Clarke's home because he had been promised $1,000 by Tucker; while Sousa has claimed Tucker and Simons both did the killing.

Tucker, who said he had known father-of-two Mr. Clarke for 15 years and was godfather to his oldest son, told the court the three defendants had been driving towards Mr. Clarke's North Shore Road address to discuss a plan to pay Simons to take the blame for a busted drugs deal.

Sousa jumped out of the vehicle before reaching the destination, meaning Tucker and Simons arrived alone and were invited in by Mr. Clarke, before going into the bedroom.

"Matthew was standing there with his back towards Vernon. I was still sitting on the bed," said Tucker, 33. "And this is when Vernon had hit Matthew on the back of the head. Matthew turned around and he had gripped Vernon by his forearms.

"Matthew had pushed Vernon up against the wall ... and I said: 'Vernon, why are you hitting him?' I got up off the bed and went towards Vernon. I walked past Matthew.

"I was going to help Matthew. I was gonna, but Vernon ... when I was about to hit Vernon, I noticed somebody jumped over the wall. They jumped over the wall.

"The person came through the rafters. They had a scarf over their face. The person came down the steps ... I had my hands up ... he came in the door. He had something on his waistline. He got past me and he went straight to Matthew.

"Matthew had got free from Vernon. He had his hands on my back and I was letting him out. I turned around and he got ripped by Vernon Simons and the other person who I did not know was Kyle Sousa. I grabbed Matthew by his hands to pull him out. He let go my arms. That's when I saw the expression on his face, like a hurting type of look, when he let go.

"I think I may have lost my balance and went back. I was gripping, pulling out, that's when the door closed and the only three in the room was Vernon and the other person and Matthew.

"When the door closed I tried to get in but the door didn't open. Then I heard Matthew saying: 'Why are you guys doing this to me? I have a family.' I heard somebody in the room say something: 'Because you snitched.'"

Tucker said he then ran outside and shortly afterwards Sousa and Simons both appeared, with blood on their pants and hands.

He said all three walked back into the Mr. Clarke's room, adding: "This is when I saw Matthew. His head was up against a wall and his feet were dangling over the side of the bed."

Tucker said he wanted to stay but Sousa threatened to stab him with a knife if he didn't leave, so all three then made off in the truck. The drugs row surrounded cannabis and ecstasy which had been shipped to Tucker from the US, over which Tucker and Simons face separate charges.

Yesterday, Tucker admitted he was guilty of that offence. He said Mr. Clarke had promised him two pounds of weed if the drugs could be smuggled into the Island inside highlifting parts for Tucker's construction business.

He said when the drugs were discovered by the authorities, Mr. Clarke and Tucker planned to pay Simons so that he would take full responsibility himself.

According to Tucker, this meant Mr. Clarke paying Simons $100,000 and Tucker paying Simons $15,000 for every year spent in prison.

However, Tucker claimed that although Simons initially agreed to the plan, he later changed his mind and went "ballistic".

l Yesterday's court report incorrectly stated that Tucker and Sousa are currently facing separate charges of drug importation. This was incorrect. It should have stated that Tucker and Simons are currently facing separate drug charges.