Police place blame in Pearl trial

Saeed: The prime suspect in the case

KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Police officers have testified to having heard the alleged mastermind of the plot to murder American journalist Daniel Pearl confess to the crimes while in custody.

Tuesday marked the the second day of the trial in Pakistan of four men charged in the kidnapping and murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, believed to have orchestrated the kidnapping, Sheikh Adil, Salman Saquib and his brother, Fahad Naseem, are charged with murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping for ransom and acts of terror, also known as harassment of the public.

If convicted, they could face the death penalty.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Ash-ar Quraishi reports on the trial in Pakistan of four men charged in the kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl. (April 23) Play video   MORE STORIES Day One:  Defendants plead not guily

The trial is closed to the media and the public. The accounts of the trial come from the attorneys.

In court Tuesday, three police officers testified they heard Saeed's confession to his involvement in the kidnapping and that Pearl was dead.

No ruling has been made on whether the testimony is admissible. Saeed was not under oath at the time he made the statement. He was taken into custody February 4, but did not make his confession until February 15.

A fourth witness, Jameel Yusuf of the citizen's police liaison committee and chief investigator in the Pearl case, said he met with Pearl on January 23 -- the day the journalist disappeared -- when the Wall Street Journal reporter received a call from one of the suspects in the case, phone records later revealed.

Later that same day, a taxi driver took Pearl to a restaurant where the journalist was seen entering a white car with Saeed.