CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Evidence of secrets and lies — both from a witness who saw his cousin die and the defendant who fatally stabbed the man — dominated testimony Wednesday in the trial of a Harvard grad student charged with first-degree murder.

Jurors listened intently as the out-of-breath voice of Alexander Pring-Wilson, 26, was heard in a scratchy 911 phone call he made moments after he stabbed 18-year-old Michael Colono five times with a utility knife on April 12, 2003.

"Is the victim still there with you?" dispatcher Michael Ferraro asked the defendant.

"No sir, I just saw it happen," Pring-Wilson said between heavy breaths. "I'm just a fucking bystander."

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"Did you see who did it?"

"No sir, it was just some guy."

The defendant, who wore a tan suit, white dress shirt and a blue-and-gold striped tie, sat quietly at the defense table, flanked by his three attorneys, as jurors listened to the three-minute recording.

Prosecutors say the Ivy Leaguer was walking home drunk at about 1:45 a.m. when he heard Colono, Colono's cousin Samuel Rodriguez, and Rodriguez's girlfriend Giselle Abreu, laughing at him from inside their white Chevy sedan parked outside a pizzeria.

Pring-Wilson allegedly walked up to the car, challenged Colono to a fight, opened his door and began stabbing him with the three-inch Spyderco military folding knife he had at the ready.

In the hours that followed, Pring-Wilson gave police several versions of the encounter, maintaining that he was an innocent bystander who stumbled into a deadly fight.

The Harvard student was arrested at about 8:30 a.m. that same morning. He is currently on house arrest and faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.

During opening statements Monday, defense attorney Rick Levinson attempted to explain to jurors that Pring-Wilson was feeling "dazed, hurt, confused and scared" at the time of the 911 call.

"He doesn't intend to file charges, but he's not hiding," Levinson said. "He viewed himself at that time as the victim, he just wants it over. He was disoriented."

The defense contends Pring-Wilson was attacked by the two men that evening and that he reached for his knife only after being repeatedly punched and kicked.

Early Wednesday, jurors learned that Pring-Wilson wasn't the only one who lied to police that day.

Shifting stories

Several witnesses gave testimony Wednesday confirming that Samuel Rodriguez initially covered up the fact that he witnessed the street fight that led to his cousin's death.

Rodriguez, 22, testified earlier that from his vantage point inside the front passenger side of the car, he could see Pring-Wilson was getting the better of Colono during their altercation at the Pizza Ring.

Rodriguez said he had trouble opening his door, due to a broken handle, but eventually rushed to his cousin's aid, punched the defendant once in the head and pulled him down to the ground.

The soft-spoken witness said he was concerned Pring-Wilson would call police.

There was beer and brandy in the car, Rodriguez had three prior convictions for assault and battery, and the group didn't want any more trouble with the law, so they drove away from the scene.

When he and Abreu realized Colono had been stabbed, Rodriguez testified, they desperately drove toward Boston, searching for a hospital or help from passing motorists who might have cell phones.

At about 1:55 a.m., they pulled up near a 7-11 convenience store and, witnesses say, started yelling for someone to call police. Rodriguez then pulled his cousin out onto the sidewalk, cradled the dying man's head in his arms, and screamed, "Don't die, Mike, don't die! I need you!"

Brookline police officer Sean Russell and his partner Robert Disario were driving by when they spotted the crowd gathering around Colono.

"When I walked up, I could see he wasn't moving," Disario testified Wednesday morning. "He was just laying there."

The officers called for an ambulance, which arrived minutes later, and questioned Rodriguez about what had happened.

Rodriguez was visibly upset about his cousin, Russell testified, and he told the officer that Colono had called him earlier and asked to be picked up at the Pizza Ring in Cambridge.

Rodriguez said that when he arrived at the pizzeria, Colono got in the backseat and told him, "I just f---ed up this white dude, man," before doubling over from his wounds, according to Russell's testimony.

Officer Disario testified that Rodriguez told him Colono had been "jumped" by a "bunch of white guys."

Rodriguez has testified that he didn't recall giving police inaccurate statements about details that night. In fact, later at the hospital and at grand jury hearings last year, he admitted he was at the scene of the stabbing.

Help from strangers

Julie Sitler, a witness trained in first aid who was walking by with her boyfriend, also testified Wednesday that she attended to Colono moments before police arrived.

"He was laboring to breathe. He had a weak pulse," Sitler testified.

She said she saw blood on his T-shirt and instructed Rodriguez, who was protectively hovering over his cousin, to apply pressure to the wounds.

According to Sitler, both Rodriguez and Abreu were panicked and frustrated that police were asking questions while Colono was dying.

Rodriguez tried to go in the ambulance with Colono, but was not allowed to leave until he spoke to police.

As the ambulance drove away, Sitler suggested that Rodriguez "hurry up and answer their questions," and another bystander offered to drive the couple to the hospital.

Sitler said she could hear Rodriguez tell the officer that he picked up Colono at Pizza Ring and he was already "like this" when they arrived.

Alexander Pring-Wilson's murder trial is being broadcast live on Court TV.