The jury in the Wood Hill fire trial has heard more evidence from defendant Kemo Porter.
Porter, (19) of Browning Street, Leicester, is among seven men and one teenager accused of torching the house in Spinney Hills, Leicester.
Giving evidence for the second day at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday, he said it was a co-defendant, Tristan Richards, who started the blaze on September 13 last year.
Porter has told the jury he was present when the fire was started, but claimed he did not know Richards was going to set the house alight.
He told the court: "I saw something in Richards' hands, like a jerry can. He was standing in the front garden, throwing liquid on the door."
During cross-examination, Richard Benson, representing Richards, accused Porter of lying to protect himself and the other six defendants, who are all good friends of his.
Mr Benson said: "You and your friends decided to point the finger at him. You laid the trail to blame him for what you and the others did."
The jury has heard how Porter's DNA was found on a cigarette lighter discovered by fire investigators at the scene.
Soon after the fire, Porter called police and told them he had given his lighter to three other males before the fire.
He later changed his story, saying he lent the lighter to Richards.
All eight deny murdering Shehnila Taufiq, 47, her daughter, Zainab, 19, and sons Bilal, 17, and Jamal, 15
The other defendants are: Aaron Webb (20), of Saltersford Road, North Evington; Jackson Powell (20), of Burnside Road, Saffron Lane estate; Nathaniel Mullings (19), of Farrington Street, off Humberstone Road; Shaun Carter (24), of Franche Road, Dane Hills; Richards (22), of Sparkenhoe Street, Highfields; Akeem Jeffers (21), of Car Mills, Leeds; and the 17-year-old.
The trial continues.
