A MAN accused of murdering his housemate told a court he would “never in a million years” hurt him.

Benjamin Henry Walter, 22, said it would have “put his life in jeopardy” to tell police what he knew about the death of Geoffrey Reed, 57.

He told the court he had been threatened by his best friend Stuart Raymond Wareham, 26, who is also accused of murder, adding: “I didn’t want to end up in the suitcase.”

Walter, who was adopted at the age of six, said he had seen Stuart Wareham grab Mr Reed around the neck but had not seen any further violence as he went to the bathroom.

However, Ian Lawrie QC, representing Stuart Wareham, said Walter was part of an attack on Mr Reed, adding: “You knew he had broken ribs because you stamped on him.”

Walter admitted putting on one of Mr Reed’s jackets and walking around the block after his death to make it look like he had gone to visit a friend in Weymouth. He said he did not intervene in the violence against Mr Reed because “it wasn’t any of my business”.

Stuart Wareham’s half-brother Lee Raymond Wareham, 33, is also accused of murdering Mr Reed at his flat in Cecil Road, Boscombe, in June last year.

The body of Mr Reed was found buried in a suitcase on land in Lytchett Matravers.

All three men deny murder. The trial at Winchester Crown Court continues.