Douglas Hales cross-exam continues in Daleen Bosse murder trial

Accused killer Douglas Hales faced tough questions for a second straight day as he took the stand in his own defence at his first degree murder trial.

Hales is accused of killing Daleen Bosse, a fourth-year student at the University of Saskatchewan, in 2004.

Hales, 36, told undercover police officers that he strangled Bosse and then burned her body, hiding the remains in a secluded party spot north of Saskatoon. But after hisarrest, he changed his story.

Hales now maintains he lied about murdering Bosse. Instead, he claims she died of alcohol poisoning while with him and that he panicked and disposed of her body.

The heat of the moment

Prosecutor Matt Miazga played a videotape of Hales while he was in police custody after he was charged with Bosse's murder in 2008. In that video Hales is seen calling his mother to tell her ofthe charge.

"Did you do it?" she asks.

"Yes," he replies.

"Why?"

"It was the heat of the moment. I didn't mean to do it. It just happened."

Hales now says that, on this tape, he's referring to burning Bosse's body and not to killing her.

Miazga then produced transcripts from earlier interviews and different points in the undercover operation where "the heat of the moment" expression is used, and then goes through the context and meaning.

I killed a hooker.- DouglasHales

At another point, Hales is heard saying "I killed a hooker."

"I was trying to portray myself as a stone cold killer."

But now, he claims that he meant that he killed a woman by buying alcohol and serving her too much.

The trial continues Thursday.