WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- His recorded confession notwithstanding, accused murderer Jeffrey R. Martin testified yesterday it was a mystery man -- young with long brown hair -- who killed and buried 12-year-old Gabrielle Miranda Bechen nearly two years ago.

As for the confession jurors in his capital murder trial heard Monday, Mr. Martin said it was only after state police "abused and tortured" him for hours that he relented and said what they wanted him to say.

Testifying in his own defense for 5¹/₂ hours, Mr. Martin, 51, of New Geneva, Fayette County, was the only witness called by Public Defender Harry Cancelmi. Closing arguments are scheduled for this morning, the fifth day of the trial.

Mr. Martin confessed nearly two years ago that he killed Gabby, as she was known, on June, 13, 2006, after she rode her small all-terrain vehicle from her home in Greensboro, Greene County to the nearby 300-acre farm where he worked as a laborer. He told authorities Gabby threatened to tell her parents he had molested her, an allegation he claimed was false but one that nonetheless sent him into a panic, causing him to strangle her.

In his confession, he denied raping Gabby but evidence presented during the trial indicated she had been sexually assaulted immediately prior to her death.

Testifying in his own defense yesterday, Mr. Martin said that confession was a lie. Instead, he told the story of meeting a man in an older model Ford truck who ran out of gas near the farm's driveway.

According to his testimony, the following occurred:

The man offered him $100 to help him get rid of an ATV for insurance purposes and Mr. Martin agreed. He didn't recognize it as Gabby's. The two men took it from the bed of the pickup truck and placed it in the back of a four-wheel utility vehicle Mr. Martin was driving.

They went onto the farm property and, using shovels, dug a hole and buried it. The man then dug two other holes and buried a helmet and shoes.

Returning to the truck, Mr. Martin saw a body in the passenger seat covered with a gray coat. All he could see were a hand, legs and some hair.

"I said, 'What's this?' " he testified, "and he said, 'There was an accident.' At this point, I was so scared and confused I didn't know what to do."

He said the man took a backhoe from the farm and used it to dig a hole. He showed Mr. Martin where he had buried the body and explained he covered it with lime. The man then said he was heading to Bobtown after Mr. Martin gave him gasoline, Mr. Martin testified.

Gabby's disappearance precipitated a massive search of the rugged area by police and volunteers. A Waynesburg couple discovered the ATV on the fifth day of the search, refocusing attention on Mr. Martin, who earlier had surfaced as a suspect.

Mr. Martin said state police punched him, verbally abused him and kept him handcuffed and locked in a car in 90-degree heat for three to four hours. Unable to stand it any more, Mr. Martin testified, he told investigators he would confess if they would give him something to drink.

After they did so, he led them to the burial sites. He said he tried to tell them about the mystery man but they weren't interested.

"They didn't want to hear about anyone else. I had to tell them like I did it," he testified.

He also claimed 12 to 15 requests for an attorney were ignored. Mr. Martin, who has a 10th-grade education and who was in special education classes, said he didn't understand forms he signed waiving his right to an attorney.

In her cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Linda Chambers' incredulity at Mr. Martin's testimony wasn't hard to miss. She repeatedly questioned him about why he never contacted authorities about the mystery man and challenged Mr. Martin's matter-of-factness about discovering a body in the truck.

"Did you often encounter trucks with bodies in them by the farm?" she asked at one point.

Later, just before completing her cross-examination, she asked, "Do you expect this jury to believe that you and this man left a body in a truck parked on the side of a road while you went to bury an ATV?"

Mr. Martin responded in the affirmative.