Two sisters have given evidence in the trial of a man accused of killing Irish holidaymaker Garry Walton in Tenerife in November 1996.
The two, called as key prosecution witnesses, told the jury they had not come forward earlier because they were "very young and frightened and felt intimated by the defendant".
Lucy and Katie Smethurst, from Manchester, incriminated Essex man Darren Sapstead almost a year after returning home to England following the death of Mr Walton.
The Irishman drowned during a sea cruise off the coast of Tenerife.
Both sisters told the court in the holiday island's capital Santa Cruz today that Mr Sapstead had visited them in their hotel the day after the incident and told them not to say anything.
Speaking from behind a screen, Lucy Smethurst, who was 14 at the time of the incident, said "he came to our hotel with a friend and it was clearly not a social call".
She said: "He admitted to throwing Garry overboard and said he did not regret doing it because 'he deserved it'.
"I was shocked because it was the first I knew about his involvement."
She added: "We did not want to get involved in something so serious in a foreign country and that is why we did not say anything at the time."
She said they came forward after being home for some time, and feeling that they could not live with what they knew.
Defence lawyer Carlos Valenciano repeatedly pressed her to clarify which of her various versions should be taken as the truth.
Lucy said: "I have no reason to lie now. This is not a personal thing. I just want to see justice done. It's not fair on the victim's family".
During 90 minutes of testimony, Lucy's sister Katie, who was aged 17 at the time, told the jury that she was at the back of the boat alone with Mr Sapstead when Mr Walton approached.
Also speaking from behind a screen, she said: "He was very drunk and approached us from behind, on my right. He did not just fall over, he was forced into the sea.
"Darren picked him up around the knees and threw him over the rail. He then took a lifebelt and threw it into the water.
"Darren could have jumped in to help him if he had wanted to," she said.
She was challenged by Mr Valenciano as to why, in her first statement to police, she had said: "Darren did not do it, only the victim knows who did it."
Katie responded: "I was young, naïve, and very scared. I felt intimated by Darren. I thought if he could do that to someone what might he do to me? I was very afraid".
She also told the court that some time after their decision to go to Manchester police and change their story, Mr Sapstead's mother turned up at her home "to persuade her to withdraw her new version".
Mr Walton's parents Robert and Catherine wore t-shirts calling for justice for their son at today's hearing.
The trial continues tomorrow.
