PORT CLINTON, Ohio — Longtime friends Scott Speer and James Barnett were spending a day on Speer's motorboat in Lake Erie when something went terribly wrong.

Speer told a 911 operator and police that his friend fell overboard in rough waves, but prosecutors say Speer intentionally pushed Barnett into the water. (VIDEO)

According to the victim's family, Speer owed Barnett money, and Barnett was set to testify in Speer's divorce proceedings that Speer had cheated on his wife.

Barnett's death was initially declared an accidental drowning, but Speer was later charged with murder after a witness came forward to say Speer had confessed to him that he pushed his friend off the boat.

During opening statements in Speer's murder trial Monday, Ottawa County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Lorrain Croy said Speer seemed extremely calm in the early morning hours of Aug. 6, 2002, when he called 911 and told dispatchers his friend had fallen overboard.

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"I heard him screaming," Speer said on the taped call. "I tried to get to him."

Speer made the call at 1:57 a.m. as he navigated through shallow rough waters with wind speeds reaching near 28 mph. The wind, audible in the background, muffled his attempts to explain where he was and what happened to Barnett.

Speer insisted that he was near Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay, although he was later found near Mouse Island in Lake Erie, several miles away, an inconsistency Croy highlighted during her statement. The defense has said Speer was just confused about his location after the trauma of losing his friend. (MAP)

Speer said the waters were shallow and dangerous, but that he was close to shore.

"There's probably not much you can do," Speer calmly told the dispatchers. "It's dark."

Speer said he tried to throw a dock line to his friend or a life preserver, although Croy said one was never found.

"Jim's on shore or he's not with us anymore," Speer said in the tape.

Croy told the jury that Speer was naked and appeared drunk when police arrived on Mouse Island and that he failed a field sobriety test before refusing to take any others. (VIDEO)

Barnett's body was found the next day on nearby Catawba Island, according to media reports.

Barnett, 39, worked for Speer at the defendant's plastics company. The pair had been working on Speer's 24-foot boat over the weekend before embarking from Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie that Tuesday afternoon.

Speer, 42, is charged with murder, aggravated murder, aggravated vehicular manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.

His attorney, Russell Buzzelli, argued to jurors that the death was an accident and that prosecutors had charged Speer with as many different crimes as possible, hoping one would stick.

"If you don't believe the aggravated murder, we've also charged him with murder," Buzzelli said. "Now lookie here, if you don't like aggravated murder or murder, we've got another charge for you. It's called involuntary murder. But we're not done yet, because if you don't like that, we have aggravated vehicular homicide." (VIDEO)

Both sides agreed that the case will hinge on the testimony of William Seese, the man who claims Speers confessed to him.

Defense attorneys have told local media outlets that Seese is not a credible witness and has a history of drug problems. When a private investigator for Speer spoke to Seese, he retracted the statement, Buzzelli said Monday.

Croy said the jury should overlook credibility issues with Seese.

"William comes with baggage, just like many witnesses do," Croy said. "But, when everything is sifted out, the defendant confessed to pushing him."

CourtTVnews.com will have video highlights of the trial.