HAYWARD, Calif. (AP) – As they dug a makeshift grave for transgender teenager Gwen Araujo, the men accused in her death had a few things to say, says one of the four.

“Jose, he said he was still so mad he could still kick her a couple of times,” said 22-year-old Jaron Nabors, testifying against his former friends, Jose Merel, Michael Magidson and Jason Cazares.

Nabors spoke up, too.

“I still couldn’t understand how someone could do that. How someone could deceive straight guys into having homosexual sex like that,” he said.

Prosecutors say Araujo, who was born a boy named Edward but grew up to believe her true identity was as a woman, was murdered in cold revenge when the men discovered that the pretty girl two of them had sex with was biologically male.

But a previous trial ended in a hung jury after one of the defense attorneys argued the case was manslaughter because it was a crime of passion provoked by sexual deceit.

The three defendants, all 25, face first-degree murder charges. Nabors also faced the same charge but was allowed to plead to manslaughter in exchange for testifying.

In his third day on the stand, Nabors laid out the bleak details of Araujo’s death.

The four met Araujo, known to them as Lida, in late summer 2002, and started spending time together at Merel’s house in Newark, a San Francisco suburb.

Things changed after Merel and Magidson had sexual encounters with Araujo and compared notes, Nabors said.

In the early hours of Oct. 4, 2002, there was a confrontation that ended with Araujo’s gender exposed.

Nabors said he saw Magidson choking Araujo several times, stopping only when others in the house remonstrated with him.

But soon, no one was coming to Araujo’s aid.

As the blows began to fall, Araujo said only one thing, Nabors testified. “No, please don’t. I have a family.”

Defense lawyers say Nabors can’t be trusted, noting that he lied to police in the past charging that he is implicating the others to cover up his own guilt. Nabors is to take the stand again to finish testifying for the prosecution and is likely to face rigorous cross-examination after that.

Nabors said Araujo was slapped and then Merel hit her hard with a can of food and a frying pan, turning her hair into a matted mess of what he assumed was blood.

Merel’s attorney, Bill DuBois, told jurors earlier that his client only menaced Araujo with the can of food and hit her a glancing blow with the pan. He said Merel genuinely cared for Araujo and did not do her any serious injury.

As the attack progressed, Nabors said Cazares asked him “Are you down?” which he took to mean was he willing to do “whatever would be expected of me.”

Cazares said they were going to get shovels because Araujo was going to be killed.

On the ride to get the shovels and a pick ax, Cazares told Nabors that Araujo had said she had connections to the Norteno gang and also offered Cazares money if he would get her out of the house safely, Nabors said.

Cazares’ attorney, Tony Serra, says Nabors is lying. Serra said his client was outside when Araujo was killed and did not plan her death, only helping to bury the body afterward out of loyalty to his friends.

According to Nabors, when he and Cazares returned to the Merel house, Araujo was still alive.

Then, Cazares said “knock that bitch out,” Nabors said. “I said, ‘Yeah, knock that bitch out.’”

Nabors said he saw Magidson punch Araujo twice in the head. She dropped to the ground and Magidson rammed his knee hard into her head, Nabors said.

After that, Nabors said, he saw Magidson tie up Araujo. He said the teenager, who appeared to be unconscious, was carried into the garage and he saw Magidson pull a loose end of rope toward her head. Nabors said he left the garage at that point.

In his opening statement, Magidson’s attorney, Michael Thorman, said his client did take part in the attack and is willing to take responsibility for that, but is not guilty of anything more than manslaughter – a defense that infuriated Araujo’s family and transgender advocates. Thorman denied that Magidson strangled Araujo.

Nabors said when he returned to the garage he saw Araujo being carried outside and put in the back of a pickup. Eventually, the four drove the body to a remote area near Lake Tahoe and buried it in a shallow grave, he said.

They tossed rocks and dirt on the body and then headed back home.

On the way, they stopped at McDonald’s to pick up breakfast and the others made fun of him because “I like to order my food special,” Nabors said.

In the courtroom, Araujo’s uncle sat with his head in his hands, eyes closed tight.