THE moment a murder suspect was told by a friend that he had killed a teenager was described to a jury yesterday.

Gill Kent told Teesside Crown Court that Sean Matson, 20, had been inhaling containers of cannabis smoke in her home when his friend, Darren Empson, called round.

She said: "Darren told him 'You've killed him'.

"Sean just deteriorated. I cannot remember if he said anything. He was pacing round the room, his head in his hands. He was distraught and was crying."

Mr Matson, of Langthwaite Walk, Redcar, Teesside, denies murdering 17-year-old Chris Cave, also of Redcar, in the early hours of June 5. The prosecution alleges that Mr Matson stabbed Mr Cave four times, once through the heart, after an argument near flats in Burnmoor Close, Redcar.

Ms Kent later said Mr Matson told her he had wiped the knife used to kill Mr Cave to destroy fingerprint evidence.

The jury heard that Matson told another friend, Ivan Empson, that he had drunk six litres of cider, vodka and had taken diazepam.

Mr Cave lived with his girlfriend, Louise Rigby, 18, who was pregnant with his child.

The case continues.