The Crown says Fawcett - then aged 21 - either took part in the killing, or was there as a party to Miss Manning's murder.
Her mutilated and partially naked body was discovered floating in the Avon River the day after she was killed.
Over the next nine months, Fawcett was interviewed five times by police, who initially treated him as a potential source of information.
It wasn't until August 2009 that he was formally interviewed and he confessed to being present when Miss Manning was bashed, raped, and stabbed.
But he later backtracked from his earlier version of events, saying he wasn't present during the attack.
During a third formal interview, on September 19, 2009, he told Detective Inspector Tom Fitzgerald that another mobster killed Miss Manning.
The four-hour interview was played in its entirety to the jury today.
In the recording, Fawcett is initially reluctant to speak, fearing the gang will get him for narking.
But Mr Fitzgerald urges him to tell the truth and get the story straight.
``I never hit her, Tom,'' Fawcett tells the senior officer.
``You told us you did. Why did you include yourself in that then?'' Mr Fitzgerald asks.
``I just felt that if I put myself in there, then maybe I can just stay away from the rest of the Mongrel Mob,'' the murder accused replies.
The trial, before Justice David Gendall, continues.
