A DEFENCE barrister has said Ben Blakeley did not intend to kill his ex-girlfriend Jayden Parkinson.
Delivering his closing speech this afternoon, Richard Benson, QC, told a jury in Oxford Crown Court they must "distinguish between vengeance and justice".
His client admits manslaughter and perverting the course of justice but denies murdering Jayden on December 3 last year.
Mr Benson said: “Jayden didn't deserve to die. Nobody wanted her to die. The last person who wanted her to die was this young man Ben Blakeley.
“He accepted that he regretfully, unlawfully put his hands round her neck to interrogate her and he did so with enough pressure to kill her.
“But he didn't intend to do that.”
Ben Blakeley’s 17-year-old brother Jake admits perverting the course of justice but denies preventing a lawful burial.
The trial continues.
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