THE pair of "lovers" accused of murdering a man found in a South Norwood skip shared a cigarette after stripping their victim naked, a court heard this week.
Prosecutors claim Arry Green, 22, and Fiona Nalty, 24, kicked Irishman Michael Hunt, 37, to death on March 15 in Station Road after a row in a cab office.
When questioned at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, Green, of Dinsdale Gardens, South Norwood, admitted punching and kicking Mr Hunt, but insisted he was still alive when the pair threw him into the skip.
Green also said he had no idea how Mr Hunt's trousers or underpants came to be removed.
Mr Hunt died in hospital from his injuries, which included a fractured skull and multiple fractured bones.
Prosecutors found a cigarette in the skip with traces of both Nalty and Green's DNA on it, but Green said he didn't remember any smoking or any blood on Mr Hunt.
Green told the court: "I didn't see blood on me. I don't remember all that blood. I thought he was going to get out.
"I thought he would get out of the skip and go home."
Green had been drinking a cocktail of Stella Artois lager, pernod, peach schnapps and vodka before he went out with friends.
He denied the prosecution's claims Nalty was his lover and insisted she was just an "associate".
He admitted prosecution claims he had spat at the cab controllers in Courier Cars on Station Road, where the fight is said to have broken out. He said he had joined in a fight between Nalty and Mr Hunt.
"She was punching him. It just happened out of the blue. When they both fell on the floor I went over," Green said.
"I remember getting him up. I was helping him, just getting him up off the floor.
"Fiona was still trying to punch or kick him. I was grappling with him. We went down towards the alleyway.
"Michael punched me. He hit me in the head.
"I pushed him away from me and I hit him back.
"He dropped on his bum. I started kicking him in the legs."
When asked why he had continued to attack Mr Hunt while on the floor, Green added: "I was still quite angry that he had punched me. Fiona walked into the alleyway. She came round the back of him.
"She pulled him down and started kicking him.
"He was saying 'no' at first. He was lying on the floor. He was trying to protect himself with his arms."
He also admitted throwing the body in the skip but said he did not think father-of-three Mr Hunt was that badly injured.
Last week, Nalty, of Fairdene Road, Coulsdon, accused Green of doing "most of the damage" to Mr Hunt.
The trial continues.
