Three people accused of murdering a dad-of-two in a brutal attack are set to not give evidence as the jury prepares to deliberate.
Prosecutors say Dr Gary Jenkins was "beaten, robbed, tortured, and left for dead" by two men and a teenage girl in Cardiff's Bute Park in what prosecutors allege was a killing motivated by "greed, homophobia, and a straightforward liking for violence".
Jason Edwards, 25, and Lee William Strickland, 36, both from Cardiff , and a 17-year-old girl who cannot be named for legal reasons, all deny murder and are on trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court .
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Our sister site Wales Online is reporting the trial live.
All evidence has now been heard by the jury, with the judge in the case confirming today that none of the defendants would give evidence themselves.
Jurors have not yet heard closing arguments from the prosecution and defence, with those speeches set to come tomorrow.
Throughout the trial, the court has heard harrowing details about the death of Dr Jenkins, a 54-year-old consultant.
He sustained life-threatening injuries in the attack in the early hours of Tuesday, July 20, last year and subsequently died at the University Hospital of Wales on Thursday, August 5.
Edwards, of Litchfield Court, Riverside , Strickland, of no fixed abode, and the youth have each admitted charges of manslaughter, robbery of a bag, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm .
Today, Judge Daniel Williams gave the jury legal directions ahead of their deliberations later this week.
Addressing the defendants' decision not to give evidence, the judge said: “That is the right of each of them but it has these consequences.
“The defendants have not given evidence in the trial to counteract, undermine or explain the evidence called on behalf of the prosecution.
“You will remember I said whether the defendants understood if he/she failed to give evidence the jury may draw inference that may appear proper. You may conclude the defendants did not have any answer to the prosecution’s case that would stand up to cross examination.
“You must decide whether it goes against him/her and if the prosecution’s case is so strong and calls for such an answer and whether the defendants had an answer that would stand up to questioning.”
On Monday, jurors heard excerpts from some of Edwards’ police interviews - who first told officers “I don’t know nothing” about Mr Jenkins’ death.
And when asked by an officer where he was, he said he was “down my friend’s house…….having a drink” in Mackintosh Place.
Edwards refused to tell the officer the number of the house and also did not want to say the name of the person who drove him there - or the type of car he went in.
The officer then asked Edwards about the events of the day of July 19 - the day before the assault in Bute Park.
Edwards told the detective he spent the day in Cardiff drinking alcohol - Stella, Jack Daniels, and vodka - adding that he only drank alcohol “once in a blue moon - and said he had not taken cannabis or crack cocaine.
During that interview, he also denied committing crime to buy drugs - saying his use was funded through benefits and his nan.
However, jurors heard evidence of a later interview with Edwards. When the officer mentions CCTV audio from the Summerhouse Cafe in Bute Park, the defendant said he has remembered being chased by undercover police officers in the early hours of the morning.
He said he ran from officers because he had cannabis on him, and did not want to get caught, and that he hid in a block of flats before going home.
Asked why he had not mentioned this incident before, Edwards replied: “It’s only just coming back to me.” The defendant says cannabis affects his memory and that he is addicted to it, calling it his “medication”. Edwards also described his use of crack cocaine as a “hobby”.
And in another interview, which was read to jurors, more questions were asked about an audio recording from the Summerhouse Cafe CCTV.
The officer said a man can be heard on the recording repeatedly shouting “leave me alone”, and he asked the defendant if he was in the park at the time - Edwards replied “No comment”.
The officer said a man can be heard shouting “stamp on his head”, and asks Edwards if that was him - the defendant replies “No comment”.
The officer asked if the defendant was the one doing the stamping - the defendant replied: “No comment”.
The officer said a male voice can be heard on the recording shouting “Jason”, and he asks the defendant if that person was calling to him - the defendant replies “No comment”.
All three defendants deny murder. The trial continues.
