Student murder jurors to decide
Wednesday 27th May 2009, 2:00PM BST.
The jury in the trial of a Shropshire man accused of murdering a teenage student was due to return to court today to consider its verdict.
Jonathan Clarke, of Queen Elizabeth Drive, Malinslee, Telford, is accused of murdering 17-year-old Simon Everitt.
Clarke, 19, and his co-defendants Maria Chandler, 40, and Jimi-Lee Stewart, 25, both of Yarmouth, are all on trial at Norwich Crown Court.
They are accused of kidnapping the engineering student before tying him to a tree and dousing him with fuel.
The prosecution claim it was then that Clarke lit a match and threw it at Mr Everitt. All three deny murdering Mr Everitt.
The 11 jurors in the trial were sent home on Friday and they were returning to continue their deliberations today.
Members of the jury have been told how Mr Everitt’s body was discovered in a swamp near Mautby woods, near Yarmouth, in June last year.
Clarke claims he was sitting on a beach in Yarmouth at the time Mr Everitt was killed.
Stewart told the jury he did kidnap the student with his co-accused, but did not want to kill him, and went along with it because he felt threatened by Clarke. The trial continues.
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
