PRESTON man Andrew Greenwood, accused of murdering law student Janet Murgatroyd, told a court on Wednesday, October 16 that when he confessed to killing her he believed he was to blame.

But he said that he had actually not been responsible for her death and had 'personalised' information he had read in newspapers and seen on BBC TV's Crimewatch programme after becoming fascinated by the case.

Greenwood, 28, told Liverpool Crown Court that he had drunk so much on the night of June 15, 1996, he had blacked out and has no recollection of events at the crucial time.

On Tuesday he told the jury that he remembered saying goodbye to his friend after an evening out together drinking and the next thing he remembered was waking up in his flat the next morning.

He said: "I don't remember going back to my flat. I remember saying goodbye to Paul and then I had a blackout. In the morning I just woke up. I don't remember anything until the morning after."

Greenwood, of Sephton Street, Lostock Hall, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 20-year-old Janet, a part-time police clerk. Her battered and naked body was found floating face down in the River Ribble at Preston on June 16, about 12 hours after she disappeared while walking home alone across Penwortham Bridge.

Greenwood approached the police three years later in 1999 and confessed to killing her, but has since retracted his admissions.

In court on Tuesday, Defence QC Andrew Edis told the jury that they should not convict Greenwood if there was reasonable doubt about whether he had done it and he reminded the jury that a former boyfriend of Janet's, John Parkinson, 41, had allegedly been violent to her in the past.

Cross-examined by Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, on Wednesday, Greenwood said that when he confessed to the police he was able to visualise what had happened and recollected parts of the incident including having his hand over Janet's mouth while they were in the bushes.

He said that when he woke on June 16 he thought he had had a bad dream and agreed he told police that from the moment he woke up he believed he was involved in the attack.

He said his memory had been playing tricks on him and he believed what he had told police at the time and embellished his account, including lies to try to convince detectives to believe him.

He said he started to believe his confession was untrue while in prison.

Mr Wright suggested: "You had gone out that night in drink looking for sex and you saw a young girl who you could see was vulnerable. In your confession you sought to conceal that motive."

"That is incorrect," said Greenwood.

(Proceeding)