Judge issues warning to jurors in the Razzell murder trial as they continue to consider their verdict today.

THE jury in the trial at which Glyn Razzell is charged with murdering his wife Linda retired yesterday afternoon and deliberated for more than two hours before being sent home to continue today.

Judge Mr Justice Christopher Pitchers told the jury to focus on two fundamental questions.

He began his summing up by telling the jury they had to be sure Linda is dead and that Glyn Razzell killed her for them to convict him of murder.

He reminded the seven man and five woman jury who have sat listening to the case for five weeks that it was the responsibility of the prosecution, led by Michael Parroy QC, to prove Razzell's guilt at no stage in the case has the 44-year-old former Zurich Financial Services investment market manager had to prove his innocence.

The standard in this case is beyond all reasonable doubt, if the jury think Linda could be alive, as the defence led by Stewart Jones QC believe, then the jury should not convict of murder, Mr Justice Pitchers said.

Razzell has always denied murdering his estranged wife on or around March 19 last year.

Mr Justice Pitchers told the jury: "It is important to draw a distinction between arriving at a conclusion based on circumstantial evidence and mere speculation"

The only key scientific evidence he said was blood discovered in the boot of the Renault Laguna Razzell had been driving on the day Linda vanished.

He said there was no doubt it was her blood, based on scientific evidence, but said to the jury: "The key question is how did blood get there? There are, you may think, two realistic possibilities her bleeding or bloodied body was in the boot or somebody has planted it there. You have to get to grips with these two alternatives."

He reminded the jury that police had found nothing at his Meadow Road home to connect him to the silver Laguna he had been driving on March 19 last year. He also reminded the 12 member panel that Razzell was a man without any previous convictions.

The case, Mr Justice Pitchers said, had relied on the opinion of experts, including mobile phone specialists and forensic scientists. But he told the panel that this case was a trial by jury not by experts and they did not have to accept any of the specialist evidence that had been presented.

He asked for an unanimous verdict in the first instance.

In Court Number One yesterday to hear the summing up were Linda's family, including her eldest daughter Catherine, Linda's boyfriend Greg Worrall, brothers Graham and Neil Davies and cousins Julie Westmore and Beverley Lewis.

Also present were Razzell's cousin, Patricia Hubbard and her husband, Razzell's girlfriend Rachel Smith and his sister Mrs Ridgewell.

At one point during a break in proceedings Razzell managed a smile and even raised a glass of water to where his girlfriend was sitting.

The trial continues.

Giles Sheldrick