This is South Wales -- The jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering five-year-old April Jones is today expected to retire to consider its verdict. Mark Bridger, 47, of Ceinws, Powys, denies abducting and murdering April, who went missing near her Machynlleth home on October 1 last year. He also denies intending to pervert the course of justice. The former lifeguard has told Mold Crown Court he accidentally ran April over with his car. He says he "panicked" and, partly because of the amount of alcohol he had consumed, cannot remember where he put her body. But the prosecution says Mr Bridger murdered April in a sexually motivated attack and lied to cover it up. April's body has never been found. The judge Mr Justice John Griffith Williams will continue his summing up of the case on Wednesday morning before the jury is expected to retire. He yesterday told the court: "All the answers you need will be found in the evidence, and so you must not speculate... to speculate is to guess". The court also heard closing speeches from the prosecution and defence teams. Elwen Evans QC, for the prosecution, said the evidence "overwhelmingly" pointed to Mr Bridger's guilt. For the defence, Brendan Kelly QC cast doubt on the evidence of April's seven-year-old friend who claimed to have seen her getting into Mr Bridger's vehicle "happy and smiling". He told the jury inconsistencies in the girl's evidence were "utterly consistent with honesty" but had a negative effect on the reliability of her evidence, which was the "cornerstone" of the trial. Mr Kelly said if the jury was less than certain about the evidence of April's friend then the case "remains unproven". The court has heard April's blood was found in several locations at Mr Bridger's home and fragments from a human skull were in his fire. Mr Justice John Griffith Williams said there was considerable sympathy and pity for April's parents, who had suffered an incalculable loss. The case continues.
Reported by This is 16 hours ago.
This is South Wales -- The jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering five-year-old April Jones is today expected to retire to consider its verdict. Mark Bridger, 47, of Ceinws, Powys, denies abducting and murdering April, who went missing near her Machynlleth home on October 1 last year. He also denies intending to pervert the course of justice. The former lifeguard has told Mold Crown Court he accidentally ran April over with his car. He says he "panicked" and, partly because of the amount of alcohol he had consumed, cannot remember where he put her body. But the prosecution says Mr Bridger murdered April in a sexually motivated attack and lied to cover it up. April's body has never been found. The judge Mr Justice John Griffith Williams will continue his summing up of the case on Wednesday morning before the jury is expected to retire. He yesterday told the court: "All the answers you need will be found in the evidence, and so you must not speculate... to speculate is to guess". The court also heard closing speeches from the prosecution and defence teams. Elwen Evans QC, for the prosecution, said the evidence "overwhelmingly" pointed to Mr Bridger's guilt. For the defence, Brendan Kelly QC cast doubt on the evidence of April's seven-year-old friend who claimed to have seen her getting into Mr Bridger's vehicle "happy and smiling". He told the jury inconsistencies in the girl's evidence were "utterly consistent with honesty" but had a negative effect on the reliability of her evidence, which was the "cornerstone" of the trial. Mr Kelly said if the jury was less than certain about the evidence of April's friend then the case "remains unproven". The court has heard April's blood was found in several locations at Mr Bridger's home and fragments from a human skull were in his fire. Mr Justice John Griffith Williams said there was considerable sympathy and pity for April's parents, who had suffered an incalculable loss. The case continues.
Reported by This is 16 hours ago.