A hotel worker accused of murdering Michaela McAreavey in Mauritius has insisted he was elsewhere in the resort when she died.
Testifying in his own defence, Avinash Treebhoowoon broke down when giving evidence.
Mr Treebhoowoon claimed his confession came after police made him strip naked and then beat him on the ankles with PVC piping.
He also said he cleaned the deluxe room at the island's Legends Hotel where the Co Tyrone teacher was found dead on the day of the crime.
However, he claimed he left at 2.35pm, which is about ten minutes before the prosecution claims Mrs McAreavey was killed.
Mr Treebhoowoon, who gave evidence in his native French Creole, and co-accused Sandip Moneea deny murdering the 27-year-old newlywed.
The defendant told the Supreme Court in Port Louis he left the room - 1025 - and went to room 1023.
"I remembered that I had forgotten to replace the shampoo in room 1023," he explained to the jurors.
Mr Treebhoowoon was the first defence witness called at the trial.
Both defendants worked at the exclusive beachside resort at the time of the murder last January and the prosecution claims they attacked Mrs McAreavey when she caught them stealing in her room.
There were heated exchanges between defence and prosecution counsel at the outset of his testimony as the state objected to the way lawyer Sanjeev Teeluckdharry was questioning his witness.
Judge Prithviraj Fecknah intervened. "I will just call upon everybody to calm down," he said.
Mr Treebhoowoon, from Plaine des Roches, was a room attendant in the hotel, while Mr Moneea, from Petit Raffray, was his floor supervisor.
He was arrested the day after Mrs McAreavey was murdered and while in custody, and in the presence of a lawyer, he made a confession and signed it, implicating both himself and Mr Moneea in the murder.
Yesterday, his lawyer Mr Teeluckdharry delivered a 70-minute opening statement in which he insisted a confession statement signed by his client was extracted by police brutality.
John McAreavey reacted to the barrister's statement from the public gallery, calling out ''lies'' at one point.
Last night in a statement, the McAreavey and Harte families said the remark was uncharacteristic, but reflects the pain and frustration felt by both families.
