But Terry John Gordon Hickson, on trial in the NSW Supreme Court for the December 1989 murder, is adamant he did not stab the 72-year-old bookie to death.

"Certainly not. It wasn't me," the Berkeley man told the jury on Wednesday.

Hickson, now 60, has pleaded not guilty to the murder.

Prosecutors allege Mr Skarratt was attacked and robbed of about $25,000 after returning to his Woolwich home from the Thursday night Dapto greyhound races.

The Crown alleges Mr Skarratt died from stab wounds to his chest and multiple blunt injuries before his wife and neighbours found his body on Friday morning.

The jury on Monday heard evidence that blood found on the victim's sock and car boot matched the accused man's DNA profile.

Hickson on Wednesday didn't dispute the blood was his, telling the jury he'd been at the Dapto races that night - December 21 - breaking into the cars of bookies as they dined before the race meet.

Using a set of car keys for various makes, cheap latex gloves, a pinch bar and a rag, Hickson said he opened their car boots to steal the money from their bookie bags.

"Yes, I used to do that," he said.

"We knew they had a routine."

Asked why he'd referred to "we", Hickson said it was a "bad habit" and that he'd always been on his own. He denied under cross-examination that "we" was actually "the truth coming out" and something he'd "forgotten to work out".

Hickson said he broke into two or three cars that night but couldn't remember finding money.

As for his blood near the car boot lock, he couldn't recall cutting himself but said he must have capped his finger while during the break-ins.

Two former associates have told the jury Hickson spoke to them about the victim's death on the weekend before Christmas - something Hickson said was "impossible" due to his time in weekend detention at Sydney's Long Bay jail.

He said he may have told people "I tried to rob his vehicle the other night".

Crown prosecutor Craig Everson asked why, after his arrest in late 2017, Hickson told police he had never heard of the victim.

"I didn't know him. I knew of him," the accused man said, agreeing Mr Skarratt had perhaps been the most successful bookie at Dapto for years.

Hickson labelled as "totally wrong" testimony from his then-girlfriend, Tania Morsman, that she'd seen him leave home the night of Mr Skarratt's death with a balaclava and knife.

He also denied many of her other claims, saying she had "just been a vicious and vindictive lady".

Earlier in the trial, Ms Morsman denied her going to police in 2017 about Mr Skarratt's death was motivated by a desire to pay back Hickson for a perceived life of mistreatment.

The trial before Justice David Davies continues.

Australian Associated Press