Star witness in Amber-Rose Rush murder trial denies framing accused

The star witness in the trial of Venod Skantha has denied framing the Dunedin doctor for murder.

The 32-year-old is accused of stabbing Amber-Rose Rush to death in her bed last February.

It's the third day the young man has taken the stand in the Dunedin High Court.

The teenager - who can't be identified - claims to have driven Skantha to Rush's house on the night she died.

But he denies going inside himself.

He's made detailed claims in court about how Skantha allegedly killed the 16-year-old and what he did with a knife, phone, and clothes later that night.

But under intense cross-examination, the witness also admitted exaggerating and lying to police multiple times.

"Well, I suggest to you that you have lied to the police, and you've lied to this jury. And you've done so to falsely implicate Dr Skantha," Defence counsel Jonathan Eaton QC said in court.

Eaton QC suggested the young man tried creating an alibi by calling a friend late on the night in questions, and that he put blood on Skantha's shoes and inside his BMW for police to find.

The trial continues.

Newshub.