Warilla murder accused's 'teary phone call' to ex-girlfriend after arrest

"I would have been home that whole Saturday afternoon and evening," Stephen Staff's statement read.

But this allegedly contradicted what he told his then partner in a teary phone call after his arrest, which she said Staff told her: "I was there, but I didn't kill him."

Staff, a Warilla sports trainer, faced the Supreme Court in Wollongong on Tuesday for the second day of his jury trial.

The 67-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Davis in his 7 Thomas Street home on Saturday, August 21, 2021.

The issue for the jury to determine is what role, if any, Staff played in the death of Mr Davis, and that if there was a plan to assault him, whether he knew the extent Mr Davis would be assaulted.

CCTV footage aired in court showed three men heading in the direction of Davis' house that night, with just two of the men returning about 15 minutes later.

Prosecutors allege Staff was one of those men and that he emerged from the home five hours later after cleaning the crime scene.

A post-mortem revealed Mr Davis suffered blunt force trauma to his face and an injury around his neck consistent with being held up by his clothing and choked.

Staff's DNA profile was found under three of Mr Davis' fingernails, the Crown said on Monday.

Crown prosecutor Nerissa Keay read out a statement from Staff to police on Tuesday, in which he outlined he was in a relationship with Jansel Arif.

He said he would visit Ms Arif frequently at her Lake Illawarra home, which was near Mr Davis' home.

"I have never been inside that house the male was found deceased at," the statement read.

"I saw him when I walked passed a lot.

"I would have been home that whole Saturday afternoon and evening."

Staff said he noticed the police tape on 7 Thomas Street home the next morning.

"I then rang Jansel asking what had happened ... she mentioned the guy was dead and not much else and then I went home," the statement said.

Ms Arif, Staff's on-off partner, took to the witness stand and told the jury that Staff called her after his arrest.

"He said, 'I was there, but I didn't kill him'," Ms Arif said. "We were both crying."

Three of Mr Davis' close friends also gave evidence about how they all played online poker during the pandemic.

Ben Grieg spoke of finding his friend's body two days after he was allegedly murdered.

Mr Davis' mother contacted Mr Grieg after not hearing from her son, so Mr Grieg went to Mr Davis' home to check on him.

Mr Grieg said he found the home in darkness, which he said was unusual since Mr Davis always had the television on, even while he slept.

Mr Grieg went inside through the back door after there was no answer when he banged on the front door.

He contacted triple-0 are finding his friend lying lifeless on his back in the loungeroom.

Under instruction from the operator, Mr Grieg performed CPR for seven minutes, but he said his friend's body was "cold and blue".

He told the jury the home looked "unusually tidy".

"The carpet looked freshly vacuumed," Mr Grieg said.

Prosecutors suggested on Monday that Mr Davis may have had unpaid debts at the time of his death.

The trial, before Justice Julia Lonergan, continues.