SAN DIEGO -- Michael Crowe, the brother of murder victim Stephanie Crowe, resumed testimony Monday in the trial of Richard Tuite.

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Defense Tries To Prove Crowe Killed Sister

Tuite's defense team emphasized Crowe's inability to recall what happened six years ago.

Crowe, a 20-year-old college student, said he lied to police about his relationship with his sister because he was just trying to give them what they wanted.

Last week, Crowe testified tearfully that he lied to Escondido police detectives about killing his 12-year-old sister in 1998 because they told him he could get treatment -- and avoid jail time -- if he did.

Crowe, along with friends Joshua Treadway and Aaron Houser, were charged with murder on the basis of the videotaped confessions, which a judge later ruled were coerced.

Charges were dropped when blood was found on a sweatshirt worn by Tuite, a transient seen in the neighborhood on the night of the slaying pounding on doors and windows while looking for a friend named "Tracy."

"I wanted to get (the detectives) on my side so they could help me," Crowe explained in his testimony. "If not, I thought I would go to jail."

On the tape, Crowe repeatedly tells detectives Ralph Claytor and Mark Wrisley that he doesn't remember killing his sister. The witness said he eventually decided to lie and tell them what he thought they wanted to hear.

Crowe was on the witness stand as part of the prosecution's rebuttal presentation.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Brad Patton frequently clashed with the soft-spoken Crowe over his inability to remember specific events in the days leading up to the girl's death.

At one point, Crowe acknowledged telling police that he left his room for 15 minutes early on the morning before Stephanie's body was discovered. He testified that he got aspirin and milk, but doesn't recall what he did the rest of the time.

The cross-examination of Crowe could end this afternoon.

Prosecutors say other members of the Crowe family will be called to testify, followed by Treadway and Houser, and then experts on scientific issues raised by the defense.

It could be another several weeks before the jury receives the case.