The judge in the Becky Watts murder trial has urged jurors to reach their verdicts “without emotion” despite the distressing nature of the case.
Becky’s stepbrother Nathan Matthews and his partner Shauna Hoare are accused of murdering the 16-year-old before dismembering her with a circular saw and hiding the remains in a shed.
As he began his summing up, Mr Justice Dingemans told the jury: “You must undertake [the] task of deciding the relevant facts without emotion. You have heard about the dismemberment of Ms Watts’ body and listened to evidence which has challenged anyone who has heard it.
“However, understandable sympathies and concern for Ms Watts and her family cannot affect your decision any more than can understandable sympathies and concerns for the defendants, some of whom have overlapping relatives, and their families. You must assess the evidence and act without favour to either prosecution or defence.”
Matthews, 28, and Hoare, 21, are accused of plotting to kidnap Becky to fulfil their fantasy of having sex with a petite teenage girl.
Of the alleged plot, the judge said: “There is no direct evidence of an agreement to kidnap Ms Watts. That is not unusual. Those who commit crime do not always disclose to those who are not parties to the conspiracy what they [are] doing.
“You will need to examine all the evidence to determine whether the crown have made you sure that Mr Matthews and Ms Hoare were parties to an agreement to kidnap Ms Watts.”
Matthews, a former Territorial Army soldier, has claimed he accidentally killed the teenager when a plan to kidnap her to “teach her a lesson” about her behaviour to her stepmother went wrong. Both he and Hoare deny she had anything to do with the killing or the aftermath.
Detailing the concept of “joint enterprise”, Dingemans explained: “An offence may be committed by one person acting alone or by more than one person acting together with the same criminal purpose or with knowledge of what the others might do.
“The agreement to act together need not have been expressed in words. It may be the result of planning or it may be a tacit understanding reached between them on the spur of the moment. The agreement can be inferred from the circumstances.”
Dingemans told the jurors they must not undertake any independent research as they try to reach their conclusions, nor can they carry out any experiments – for example with the red suitcase Matthews alleges he crammed Becky’s body into after killing her.
Matthews, of Warmley, South Gloucestershire, denies murder and conspiracy to kidnap. He admits manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, preventing the burial of a corpse and possessing a prohibited weapon.
Hoare, of Bristol, denies murder, conspiracy to kidnap, perverting the course of justice, preventing burial of a corpse and possessing a prohibited weapon.
The jury at Bristol crown court is expected to retire on Tuesday to consider its verdicts.
