A defendant in the Rhys Jones trial put pressure his mother to change her story about the night the 11-year-old was killed, a jury heard.
A defendant in the Rhys Jones trial put pressure on his mother to change her story about the night the 11-year-old was killed, a jury heard.
The 16-year-old, known as Boy M, is accused of assisting an offender along with four others.
The 16-year-old, known as Boy M, is accused of assisting an offender along with four others.
The jury was played bugged recordings of Boy M shouting at his mother when she told police two defendants had been in her house on 22 August.
At Liverpool Crown Court Sean Mercer is accused of the murder of Rhys Jones.
Sean Mercer is accused of the murder of Rhys Jones at Liverpool Crown Court.
The 18-year-old of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, is alleged to have shot the schoolboy dead in the car park of the Firtree pub.
The 18-year-old of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, is alleged to have shot the schoolboy dead in the car park of the Firtree pub.
The prosecution claim Mr Mercer disposed of his clothing worn at the time of the killing, the gun and a bicycle, with help from the six people charged with assisting an offender, including Boy M.
'Little snitch'
The jury heard earlier in the trial Boy M admitted dumping the murder weapon, bike and killer's clothes because he was scared and acting under duress.
As the recording was played in court the teenager failed to join his co-accused in the dock.
In the secret recording, made on 3 September 2007, Boy M can be heard saying his mother's statement to police made the situation worse for him.
I can't change my statement now. I'm not lying Grandmother of Boy M
The court heard she had told detectives Mr Mercer had been in her house at some point on the evening Rhys was shot dead. She also said defendants James Yates, 20, and Nathan Quinn, 18, were at the property.
The teenager can be heard swearing and saying: ""They've all been nicked for it and that'll make me worse."
He called his mother a "little snitch" for talking to police.
The court then heard him say: "You're lucky I never cracked you."
In another recorded clip Mr Mercer was present as Boy M tried to pressure his grandmother into changing her story.
He is heard telling her she was confused about the night the defendants were at the house.
But she said: "I can't change my statement now. I'm not lying."
The grandmother is captured on tape saying Mr Mercer "went white" when she told him she refused to change her story.
James Yates, 20, of Dodman Road, 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 two boys aged 16 and 17, who cannot be identified.
The sixth accused person, another 17-year-old boy, also denies possessing an illegal firearm and ammunition.
