Taking the stand in his own defense against the advice of his attorney, accused murderer Wayne Oxley told jurors he did not kill Bernard Trickey Jr. in August 2005.

Oxley is standing trial for the third time in the killing of Trickey, his neighbor in Ogdensburg. Oxley was convicted once, won a second trial which ended in a hung jury and is now standing trial for a third time.

Oxley's lawyer, Peter Dumas, asked Oxley "Did you kill Bernie Trickey?" Oxley responded, "No sir."

Oxley told jurors he was doing drugs and drinking heavily at his home the night Trickey was beaten to death.

(This is the third time Oxley has testified. Our earlier version of this story incorrectly said it was the first time.)

Wednesday afternoon, assistant district attorney Amanda Nissan questioned Oxley for about 40 minutes. She pressed Oxley on the difference between what he said Wednesday morning and what he said in the earlier trials.

Oxley appeared to remain calm, speaking in a low voice and making eye contact with jurors.

One contradiction Nissan pointed out: in earlier trials, Oxley said he did not see John Shannon going toward the Trickey home. In this trial, Oxley said he saw Shannon headed that way.

Oxley testified that he was smoking marijuana, drinking wine and popping pills while Shannon, a neighbor, was at his (Oxley's) home.

Oxley said that Shannon, who died about a week later in a suspicious fire, repeatedly asked him for his wooden baseball bat.

Trickey was beaten to death with a baseball bat.

As he was about to enter the courtroom to begin testifying, Oxley told 7 News reporter John Friot "it's in God's hands. I just hope he's in the building."

After Oxley finished, the defense 'rested,' meaning it's mostly finished.

The trial resumes Friday morning with the district attorney calling more witnesses. That means the jury will not get the case until next week at the earliest.

Click on the picture to hear Friot reporting live by phone from Canton during 7 News This Evening.