HAYLEY MURDER TRIAL: HUGO Quintas tried to pass the blame for trying to cover up the murder of Hayley Richards onto a friend he described as being "as close as a brother".

Quintas told Bristol Crown Court on Thursday he had become close friends with Joaquim Da Cunha, known as Sergio, since they met at a party in September 2003. Da Cunha then moved into Quintas' Seymour Court home in December 2004.

Under cross examination by Paul Grumbar, defending Da Cunha, Quintas said: "He was my friend. He was like a brother to me." When asked who had put a bag of bloody clothes into a black bin liner after the death of Hayley Richards, Quintas said it was Da Cunha and said it was initially his friend's idea for him to go home to Portugal.

Grumbar accused Quintas of passing the blame. He said: "You blamed Hayley for what you did to her and you've tried to blame Sergio for all the dishonest things you've done."

Quintas replied: "No, I'm not trying to blame anyone. What was done was done."

He told the jury he had asked his friend to go to Hayley's house to check she was dead because he could not bring himself to believe he had killed her. The court also heard for the first time his explanation of how the yellow craft knife used to kill her got into Miss Richards' flat.

He said he had begun to be concerned about her safety after watching a programme on robberies and so gave her three knives.

Cross examining Quintas, Mark Evans QC, prosecuting, accused Quintas of lying to the court about being provoked into killing his girlfriend.

He reminded the court Quintas had lied in his initial defence statement and also to the police about where the knife and bloody clothes were and said he had also made up stories about his whereabouts in Portugal.

Mr Evans said: "You are lying to the court in exactly the same way as you lied to this court in writing when you said that Hayley attacked you with a knife. Provocation is just the next best thing and it's still a lie."

Quintas insisted his girlfriend had provoked him into killing her and said: "Look, I'm guilty of having killed her but I had no intention. There's no explanation, I lost it. I know I've taken away a life."