A jury in the trial of six people who stand accused of murdering Carlisle man Lee McKnight have again been sent home for the night and will resume its deliberations tomorrow.
The four men and two women on trial are said to have played roles in the alleged murder of 26-year-old Mr McKnight. His body was found in the River Caldew on Carlisle’s outskirts just before 5.30am on July 24 last year.
Mr McKnight is said to have been beaten to the point of death at an address in Charles Street, off Fusehill Street in the city, before being transported away and dumped in the water.
Jurors retired to consider verdicts in the case last Thursday afternoon after hearing a wealth of evidence over the course of seven weeks at the city’s crown court.
And this afternoon, after deliberating for a fourth day, Mr Justice Hilliard called the jury members back into court briefly before sending them away for the night.
No verdicts have yet been formally taken.
“That’s it for the day,” he told the jurors in a short address.
“I am obliged to tell you you mustn’t make any enquiries of your own, any research of your own; you mustn’t communicate with anybody at all about the case.”
All six defendants deny murder and face lesser alternative charges, and deliberations are due to resume tomorrow morning.
