A JURY has heard the closing statement from a murder accused’s defence barrister who said if the jury are ‘not sure’, she must be found not guilty.
Scarlet Blake, 26, is accused of killing 30-year-old Jorge Martin Carreno in the early hours of July 25, 2021 in Parsons Pleasure.
Though admitting she was with the Spanish man at the popular bathing spot that night, Blake has denied having any involvement in his death.
Read the prosecution's closing statement here: 'Her actions were barbaric,' prosecutor says in murder trial
The prosecution alleged she had hit him on the back of his head before strangling him and pushing him into the water.
It is the case of the defence that Mr Martin Carreno may have drowned accidentally or had taken his own life.
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Presenting his closing statement to the jury on Thursday (February 22), Mr Richard Sutton KC reminded the 12-strong panel if they are not sure, they need to deliver not guilty verdicts.
He also asked the jury to consider if the live stream of Blake dissecting the cat could be comparable to the injuries found on Mr Martin Carreno.
“Cats, you may think, bring in dead birds of mice into your house and purr at your feet for your approval. Cats don’t know better but Scarlet Blake does,” he said.
“That cat was certainly mutilated and no one has suggested Mr Carreno was mistreated or mutilated in anyway.”
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He added there are two paths to a decision and the ‘easy’ one would be to convict Blake but the ‘right’ one is to deliver a not guilty verdict.
Continuing, he said: “An expression you often hear where something tragic occurred is those left behind need closure - where a human being has tragically lost life.
“In doing so, you choose the easy path rather than the right path. Neither [prosecution and defence] can tell you exactly what happened at 5.30am on July 25, 2021.
“It was perhaps surprising in these circumstances that when the prosecution addressed you at the end of all the evidence that there were at least three options for you to consider [accident, suicide, third-party involvement].
“The reason, we suggest, the prosecution had to spend so much time looking at these options, even at this late stage, is because they are still open to those options.
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“We have to consider these possibilities and reject them before we can be sure.”
The trial continues today with the judge summing up the evidence. The jury could retire by the end of the day.
It is unknown how long it will take to reach a verdict.
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