SAVANNAH, Ga. — A man accused in the shooting death of a 19-year-old debutante during a botched robbery proclaimed his innocence on the stand Wednesday, but declined to testify in his own defense.

"I wanted to testify at first, but the way things are going, I don't want to anymore," Webster Wilson said confidently outside the presence of the jury, after the state rested its case Wednesday. "I'm innocent, I didn't do nothing wrong."

Wilson, 25, and co-defendants, Michael Thorpe, 26 and Kevin Huckabee, 21, each took the stand briefly Wednesday and stated they wished to remain silent, paving the way for closing arguments in their felony murder trial for the death of Jennifer Ross on Christmas Eve 2005.

Ross died on New Year's Day, a week after she was shot in the back as she and three friends walked home from a bar in Savannah's downtown historic district.

During five days of testimony, jurors heard from former friends of the defendants, who said that Thorpe admitted to shooting Ross because she refused to give up her purse.

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The witnesses also implicated Wilson of pistol-whipping Ross' friend, Brett Finley, during the attack, which occurred a few hours after Ross attended her debutante ball.

Huckabee is accused of driving the getaway vehicle.

"I understand the state has the burden of proof so I don't have to prove nothing," Huckabee told the court Wednesday, while relatives of the victims and the defendants listened in the audience.

Defense lawyers claim police built a case around the defendants based on information from Thorpe's uncle, who testified that he was in on the plan to rob Ross and her friends.

Sean Thorpe, who received immunity for his testimony, told jurors that he was supposed to take the victims' wallets while his nephew and Wilson held them at gunpoint, but he became nervous and fled before Ross was shot.

Lawyers for the defendants also accused the lead case detective of failing to follow up on other leads, including an eyewitness statement from Ross' friend, Brannen Miles, who initially said one of the attackers was white.

But Savannah-Chatham Metro Police Det. Don McCutcheon testified "multi-racial robbery teams" were rare in Savannah, and that he was unable to link any white suspects to the crime.

In the end, McCutcheon told jurors, he was able to corroborate most of the leads implicating the defendants, including information from Sean Thorpe.

"They were all giving me bits and pieces that tied into the defendants," McCutcheon said of the defendants' friends, most of whom testified in jailhouse apparel because of unrelated convictions or pending cases.

Though police never found the 9-mm weapon that was used to shoot Ross, McCutcheon testified he was able to confirm Sean Thorpe's claim that he purchased it for his nephew, who is a convicted felon.

McCutcheon said he found a receipt from the pawn shop where Thorpe claimed he purchased a 9-mm high-point pistol at his nephew's request.

Earlier Wednesday, the jury heard from a firearms examiner who testified that the markings on a 9-mm casing from the crime scene were consistent with a high-point pistol.

Otherwise, McCutcheon admitted, there was no forensic evidence, such as DNA or fingerprints, linking the defendants to the crime or the Ford Taurus that was allegedly used as a getaway car.

"Is there more to this case than just forensic evidence?" Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Christy Barker asked the detective.

"Yes ma 'am," McCutcheon answered. "You don't always get forensic evidence."

Lawyers will present closing arguments Thursday morning. The trial is being streamed live on the Web at Court TV Extra.