A man accused of carrying out a bloody baseball bat attack on the Cooper twins was never at the scene of the alleged assault, a court heard yesterday.

Kenneth Burgess told detectives he was in the Court Street area and then took a phone call from his wife about the health of his son on the night the twins were last seen alive.

Eyewitness Devario Whitter had already told the jury how Burgess used an aluminium bat on the twins and delivered a series of blows that left blood on the floor and walls of a downstairs apartment.

He claimed the brothers were part of a group driven to Crown Hill Lane, Devonshire, in the early hours by Burgess and co-accused Dennis Alma Robinson after visiting an illegal gambling den.

But in a statement to officers, Burgess said he received the call from his wife at about 4.30 a.m. on March 13, last year, and was told his son's temperature was 103. She took a taxi to the hospital, the court heard, where Burgess met her.

"When I got there she was already at the hospital and she told me that the doctor had given him some medication to stabilise his temperature," said the defendant.

Burgess said he could not remember the exact time he left the hospital, but said he arrived home about 20 minutes later. He added that he remained there until about 5 p.m. on Sunday March 13.

The statement was read in court yesterday during evidence from Detective Constable Carl Neblett, the officer who took an interview statement from Burgess later that Sunday.

After giving the statement, Burgess was arrested on suspicion of causing GBH against the twins and an early hours search was carried out of his lower apartment at Crown Hill Lane.

Four senior officers took Burgess to the property and DC Neblett, of the Criminal Investigation Unit, said one of the walls appeared to be freshly plastered as it was damp.

The lock on the door did not work, the jury was told, and the door was held in place by a block of cement. The property was dark and Police used a tripod floodlight, already in the apartment, to light up the room.

Burgess refused to comment during the search, the court heard. The defendant was also asked to extend both arms so Police could check for bruises and cuts. No marks were evident.

DC Neblett, who said a sponge and workstation were in the corner of the room, also said no blood was found in the apartment during a search that lasted up to seven minutes.

As the search for the twins intensified, he said the apartment was combed again on March 23 in an attempt to find a well or tank where the bodies might have been located.

The flat and a neighbouring property were searched again on April 20, after the twins had been found, and DC Neblett told Crown counsel Cindy Clarke that several items were seized by officers.

Courtenay Griffiths QC, for Burgess, quizzed DC Neblett about the events leading up to his client's arrest.

The court heard how the twins mother, her boyfriend and Gladwyn Cann went to Hamilton Police Station just after 9 p.m. on March 13 to give a report about the missing brothers Jahmil and Jahmal. Mr. Cann gave evidence in court earlier in the week and said that before he fled in fear he witnessed Burgess start to beat the twins in the apartment.

Mr. Griffiths asked the detective whether it was clear who was giving an eye-witness account last March and who was giving "hearsay" or "inferior" evidence.

DC Neblett said he established "pretty much immediately" that Mr Cann was giving an eye-witness account and the other two hearsay evidence of the twins disappearance.

Mr. Griffiths asked whether the officer thought the evidence had been contaminated in any way by the others being in the interview room with Mr. Cann.

"Did the thought cross your mind that he may have been influenced to give his account by those with him," the QC asked.

"No," replied DC Neblett.

Mr. Griffiths also said Police knew they should have arrested Burgess before taking his statement, but instead "took advantage of his ignorance" and lack of lawyer to obtain the statement. DC Neblett denied the claim.

Meanwhile, the court also heard how DC Neblett attended a report of damage to a building at the junction of Court Street and Elliott Street at about 7.40 p.m. on March 13.

The court heard Burgess made the complaint after a rock was thrown through a window of his property. DC Neblett said Burgess told him that an unknown person had said Rashad Cooper, the older brother of the Cooper twins, was responsible. However, the jury heard Burgess said he did not want to be make a formal complaint but asked for the incident to be logged.

The fourth day of the murder trial also heard from a mason who worked at the Crown Hill Lane apartment before the alleged attack took place.

Clifton Burt worked there for about two months and his last day there was March 11 ? two days before the twins vanished.

Mr. Burt told Crown counsel Paula Tyndale it took a couple of days for a plastered wall to dry. She showed Mr. Burt photographs of a corner where the prosecution claims blood was left on the wall after the baseball attack.

Pointing to a dark patch of wall, she asked: "Did you leave the wall in that condition?"

Mr. Burt said that was not the way he left the wall and said it looked like it had just been painted.

Burgess, 33, and Robinson, 34, deny murdering the twins on March 13, last year.

The trial continues.