The defence lawyer in a Yukon Supreme Court murder trial has accused one of the witnesses of withholding information because he's too scared to talk.

The exchange between lawyer Ray Dieno and witness Larry Brault took place

Wednesday afternoon during the trial of Norman Larue.

Larue is accused of the 2008 murder of Gordon Seybold.

"You can't give the full information about Seybold's business because you would be dead,” the lawyer said during his cross-examination.

"That's not correct; you're making this stuff up,” Brault replied.

The response was the last of the day for Brault. Dieno asked the judge to recess court so he could continue his cross-examination today.

The prosecutors are alleging Larue and his fiancée, Christina Asp, beat Sybold in his home and burned the cabin down on March 26, 2008.

Brault lived in a smaller cabin on the same property as Seybold's home in Ibex Valley.

The jury has already heard that the property was also home to a large and technologically advanced marijuana grow operation.

The drugs were sold on the honour system. Patrons would have keys to a sauna on the property, take what they wanted and leave the cash behind.

On the stand, Brault told the jury he often cared for Seybold's home when the 63-year-old was on vacation.

He insisted, even after repeated questioning, that he only looked after the home when Seybold was away and was not responsible for managing the grow operation or sales.

He told the jury Seybold had a friend who took care of the grow operation when he was away. Brault testified he was "not going to say” who that was.

Brault claims he never learned the man's name and didn't want to get involved.

At first, Dieno suggested Brault himself was the "master gardener.”

Brault said that's not true.

The lawyer went on to question why Brault would not tell the police who was involved, and suggest that he was being threatened.

Brault said that's not true.

Despite repeated questions from the lawyer, Brault insisted multiple times that he was not involved in managing the business.

"You're protecting somebody or you are protecting yourself,” Dieno said.

Earlier in the day, Brault, who was once in a long-term relationship with Asp's mother, Jessie, told the jury about the time near the Seybold fire when Asp and Larue were living in Whitehorse.

Brault testified that Jessie Asp is an alcoholic and was a neglectful mother to her eldest, Christina, and five other children.

He moved into the cabin on Seybold's property years before the fire, after his relationship with Jessie Asp ended, he said.

Though they had spent years apart, by 2008, Brault and Jessie Asp had started seeing each other again.

Brault told the jury that, about a month before the fire at Seybold's cabin, Christina Asp came back to Whitehorse, bringing Larue with her.

"They seemed to be boyfriend and girlfriend,” he said.

Brault told the jury Christina Asp had been arrested for killing Keith Blanchard, a man she had been living with, and spent some time in jail.

When asked by prosecutor Bonnie Macdonald what he thought Asp's "legal status” was when she arrived in Whitehorse, Brault told the court: "Same like Mr. Larue. I thought they had both run off from halfway houses not having finished their sentences.”

Brault was questioned about the green GMC Jimmy he helped Jessie Asp purchase.

He said there was no damage to the vehicle when they bought it "the same winter Gordon's house burned down,” and he can't think of any time Seybold was in the vehicle.

The jury has heard expert testimony that Seybold's blood was found on a floor mat of the Jimmy that was siezed by police with damage to its bumper.

Brault said Jessie Asp was aware of the marijuana on Seybold's property.

He can't recall if Christina ever went with him to Gordon's house. It's likely, but he can't say for sure, he said.

On the day of the fire, Brault said, he was building a house near the McClintock River.

In the late morning or early afternoon, the Jimmy pulled up to the property and Jessie Asp got out of the back seat.

Larue was driving and Christina Asp was sitting next to him.

Jessie Asp spent the day with him, then drove her home, he said.

He next saw the GMC Jimmy a few days later. It had a dent on the bumper.

Larue and Christina Asp left Whitehorse a few days after that, he said.

During cross-examination, Dieno questioned Brault's recollection of the day Jessie Asp was dropped off at the worksite.

In an early statement to the RCMP, Brault told an officer he didn't know how Jessie Asp got to the property.

On the stand Wednesday, he said he was certian Larue drove her.

Dieno also questioned Brault about a call between Seybold's cabin and Christina Asp's cell phone in February 2008. The call is listed on a phone bill.

On the stand, Brault said, as best as he can recall, he was living in the larger cabin in February 2008, while Seybold was on vacation. He said he doesn't remember anything about a phone call five years ago.

The cross-examination concluded this morning.

The trial, which began in early April, is slated to last three months.