SAN DIEGO -- A teen originally charged in Stephanie Crowe's stabbing death informed a detective that a friend gave him the knife and threatened to kill him if he told anyone, according to a tape played in court Thursday.

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Teen Said He Feared For His Life

The Feb. 10, 1998, taped interrogation of Joshua Treadway, now 20, was introduced by attorneys for Richard Tuite at his preliminary hearing.

During the Feb. 10, 1998, interrogation, Treadway told Oceanside police Detective Chris McDonough how Michael Crowe, now 19, and Aaron Houser, now 20, talked about killing Michael's sister because he hated her.

Treadway told the detective that Houser gave him a knife that he said had been used to kill Stephanie and told Treadway to get rid of it.

"He said, 'Wash it ... get rid of it ... and don't tell anybody ... or else I'll kill you,'" Treadway told McDonough.

Superior Court Judge Gale Kaneshiro is considering whether there is probable cause to order Tuite, a 33-year-old transient, to stand trial for the death of the 12-year-old girl the night of Jan. 20, 1998.

Kaneshiro ruled that Tuite could present "hearsay" evidence pointing to Stephanie Crowe's brother, Michael Crowe, Houser and Treadway as the killers.

The three originally were charged with the seventh-grader's murder, but charges were dropped when a DNA test revealed Stephanie's blood on a filthy red sweat shirt Tuite had on the night of the killing.

The case was turned over to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the state Attorney General's Office three years ago.

A different judge ruled in 1999 that most of the 18-hour interrogation over two days was coerced, but said some of Treadway's statements were voluntary and would have been admissible at trial.

At one point during the taped interrogation, McDonough hooked Treadway up to a voice-analyzing machine that measures stress and the validity of responses to questions.

After first denying talking to Houser after Stephanie's murder, a sobbing Treadway told the detective that Houser called him and threatened to kill him if he told anybody about getting the knife from him.

On the tape, McDonough assured Treadway that police would protect him and implored him to tell the truth.

"The last thing you want is Aaron telling your story," the detective told Treadway. "Don't allow him to tell (us) what you did."

"He's a very frightening person," Treadway said of Houser. "I've never had anyone threaten my life before. I asked him who killed Stephanie, and he said 'I did.'"

Treadway told the detective that he waited outside while Michael Crowe and Houser went into the Crowe residence.

"I didn't help them do anything," Treadway told McDonough.

Tuite faces 27 years to life in prison if tried and convicted.