Rhys witness told 'change story'

Rhys Jones died in his mother's arms

The teenager accused of the murder of Rhys Jones asked a key witness to change her story, a court heard.

On a police recording the accused, Sean Mercer, is allegedly heard telling the grandmother of a co-defendant to say he was at her home on a different day.

Liverpool Crown Court was also shown an interview with a friend of the 18-year-old who said Mr Mercer gave him the murder weapon to dispose of.

Mr Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, has pleaded not guilty to murder.

On Wednesday, jurors were shown a video of a police interview with the prosecution's key witness, an 18-year-old man who cannot be named.

He gave me the gun wrapped in a carrier bag Anonymous witness

The teenager, who has been given immunity from prosecution, told police that Mr Mercer called and asked him to pick him up from the home of Boy M, Mr Mercer's co-defendant, after the shooting on 22 August 2007.

When he arrived at the house he was taken upstairs where he saw Mr Mercer coming out of a room wearing tracksuit bottoms, a scarf, cap, hooded top and jacket.

The teenager told police: "He gave me the gun wrapped in a carrier bag. It wasn't wrapped tight - it was wrapped in a square, it looked like A4 paper."

Although the witness claimed he did not know it was a gun, he said he was scared and did not feel as though he could say no.

The 18-year-old said as he walked downstairs Mr Mercer told him: "Don't say nothing to no-one."

He said: "I was just trying to put things together. I didn't know nothing about it, I didn't know if somebody had been chased with a gun."

Rhys was shot outside The Fir Tree pub in Croxteth

He told police the taxi dropped him off at Boy K's house, but he was in bed so he walked back to his own home, where he hid the gun in a dog kennel.

The witness said: "When I put the gun in the kennel I was panicking because I didn't know what happened.

"I didn't find out (about Rhys) until 10.30pm."

Earlier, the grandmother of Boy M, 16, told the jury that Mr Mercer was at her home on the night Rhys was shot dead in Croxteth Park.

Mr Mercer claims he was elsewhere on the day of the shooting on 22 August 2007.

The court heard the bug was placed in the home of Boy M after he had been arrested and his relatives had given police statements.

During his grandmother's cross-examination by Tim Clarke, defending Boy M, recordings were played which appeared to show attempts to get her to change her mind about the day of Mr Mercer's visit.

I don't know what all this lying is about Tape recording of Boy M's grandmother

In one, a voice which Mr Clark said was Sean Mercer, says: "You have to say it was Tuesday."

The grandmother replied: "I'm not saying it was Tuesday."

The male voice told her she had it "wrong" adding: "You better change it."

She was then told to say she had "a bad memory".

She replied: "I'm not changing. I've signed the statement. My mind's gone."

'Went white'

In another recording, the grandmother is heard telling an unknown person: "I said (to Mercer), if you haven't done it you've got nothing to worry about. I don't know what all this lying is about.

"He said, 'I know, I know', but he went white."

Richard Pratt QC, defending Mr Mercer, disputed that it was his client speaking in much of the recordings and suggested it was her grandson, Boy M.

Cross examining Boy M's grandmother, he said: "Sean Mercer never told you to change your story at all."

The grandmother replied: "He did. He said to say it was Tuesday."

James Yates, 20, of Dodman Road; Nathan Quinn, of Wickett Close, both Croxteth; Gary Kays, 25, of Mallard Close and Melvin Coy, 24, of Abbeyfield Drive, both West Derby, Liverpool, are accused of assisting an offender along with Boy M, 16, and Boy K, 17, who cannot be named.

All six deny the charges.

Advertisement

Eighteen-year-old Sean Mercer denies killing Rhys Jones