PORT CLINTON, Ohio — A man who described himself as a former drug addict testified Thursday that he clearly remembers Scott Speer telling him he pushed his best friend off his boat, although he was high on Vicodin at the time of Speer's alleged confession.

William Seese, who said he was addicted to opiates from 1997 until recently, said Speer made the confession one night in the summer of 2003, when he came to his home to use cocaine.(VIDEO)

Although Seese admitted he had used drugs before Speer came over, he said he had no doubt about what Speer told him that night.

"He said that they were drunk and he pushed him off the boat," Seese told the jury.

Speer is accused of killing James Barnett, 39, by pushing him off his boat near Mouse Island in Lake Erie on Aug. 6, 2002. Prosecutors have said Seese's testimony would prove their theory that Speer intentionally pushed his best friend into the water. (MAP)

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Barnett's family has said he was set to testify against Speer in his upcoming divorce proceedings.

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

The defense claims Barnett fell in the rough water because he wasn't holding on when a wave hit the boat.

Seese, who has been convicted of title fraud, also testified that he lied to Speer's attorneys and a private investigator when he told them Speer never confessed.

"I told [them] that he never said that to me because at that point I didn't want to get involved," he said. "I don't know why I did it, but I did it."

He also said he didn't originally tell anyone what Speer said because he didn't believe him.

Speer shook his head throughout Seese's testimony.

Russ Buzzelli, Speer's attorney, attacked Seese's credibility, saying that he had lied before, that he suffered from "attention-getting disorder" and that his drug abuse affected his memory.

Seese changed his story under Buzzelli's questioning. At first he said he was sober when he heard Speer's confession, but then he said he was under the influence of Vicodin. The drug didn't keep him from being able to understand what Speer said, he claimed.

He was unsure, however, about the exact date or even the month when Speer allegedly confessed. He also couldn't say exactly when he was questioned by police.

After being attacked further about his memory and his credibility, Seese said he thought about disobeying his subpoena to testify.

"I wasn't going to come today," he said. "I didn't care if I went to jail."

James Barnett's body was found on the shore of Mouse Island in Lake Erie.

A man who lives near Bass Haven Marina, where Speer had normally docked one of his boats, testified Thursday that he saw Barnett and Speer get in an argument on the boat two days before Barnett died.

Kim Henning said the two men had always seemed to have a great relationship, but on Aug. 4, he saw Speer get angry when someone offered Barnett a beer.

"Scott came out of the cabin and demanded, 'He's not going to get a beer. He's working on my time,'" Henning testified. "That flared [Barnett] up. Out of the clear blue sky, he demanded that Scott pay him his $10,000."

Speer got upset and left the boat, he said, but Barnett was angry the rest of the day.

"He kept saying he wasn't going to leave Lake Erie until he got his check," Henning said.

Henning said he never heard what the money was for and Speer never confirmed or denied that he owed Barnett money.

Earlier Thursday, James Crawford, a crash-reconstruction expert, testified that Speer was recklessly speeding in dangerous waters that night, which could have caused Barnett to go overboard.

During cross-examination, however, he seemed to undermine the accusation that Speer pushed Barnett of the boat when he said it would have been "very difficult to near impossible" for Speer to leave the helm even for a second or two.

Crawford, who works for a private company, said he was able to come up with a theory of what happened on Aug. 6, 2002, using weather conditions and a determination of how fast the boat.

"In my opinion, [Speer] was operating [the boat] at an extremely unreasonable speed," Crawford said. "That speed would be very dangerous."

Crawford said he determined Speer was operating the boat between 39 mph and 42 mph.

But on cross-examination, Crawford said given the conditions and the speed the boat was moving, if Speer had left the helm, he would have likely fallen over or been ejected himself.

"Would you be able to calmly move or leave the helm, walk two or three steps, wrestle with someone who is 6'4", 250 pounds, and be able to throw them overboard and then be able to get back to the helm and continue to operate the boat like nothing happened?" Buzzelli asked.

"I would say that would be very difficult to do," Crawford said.

Crawford's answer cast a shadow over the prosecution by insinuating that only one of their theories could be true: Either Speer pushed Barnett overboard and was not speeding, or he was speeding, which could have caused Barnett to be thrown from the boat.

The defense also challenged Crawford's speed estimates, claiming that Speer told a police officer he left Put-in-Bay between midnight and 1 a.m., which would have meant that, based on Crawford's formula, he was going between 3 and 6 mph.

Testimony continues Friday.