Third day for 'massacre' jury

Three generations of the family died in the attack

The jury in the Clydach murder trial jury begin their third day of deliberations on Friday.

As the judge in the case, Mr Justice Butterfield, discharged the jurors on Thursday afternoon, he reminded them to take all the time they needed to consider the evidence presented over the past two months.

Mr Morris denies all the charges

David Morris, 40, denies killing three generations of the same family at a house in the Swansea Valley on 27 June 1999.

The judge had completed his third day of summing up on Wednesday and gave final points of direction to the jurors before sending them away at lunchtime to begin deliberations.

He told the panel of 11 jurors - one was discharged earlier in the trial after suffering a stroke - that they should use "common sense and knowledge of the world" in arriving at their decision.

On Thursday, he gave the jury the option of a weekend sitting, if they thought it would help in coming to their verdict.

He said: "I do not know how your deliberations are progressing, whether by sitting longer tomorrow you may be able to reach a decision or whether you think you could do with a break at the weekend.

The prosecution alleged Alison Lewis was responsible

"There is even a possibility that you could sit on Saturday."

He added: "I am not offering it to you with any great eagerness but it is something that you should think about."

Mandy Power, 34; her daughters Katie, 10; and Emily, eight; and her mother Doris Dawson, 80, all died in what has been described by the prosecution as a "massacre".

Mr Morris, of nearby Craig Cefn Parc denies the murder charges in the case which began at the court in April.

Mr Butterfield reviewed the arguments the jury had heard over the past 11 weeks.

"The events of that night have left marks which are deep and, perhaps, indelible on the lives of many," he said.

"The prosecution say that the man responsible for these killings was David Morris.

'Sexual desire'

"He, they say, possessed a sexual desire for Mandy Power and, on an evening when he was angry and rejected by his partner, fuelled with amphetamines and alcohol, he went to her home and pressed these desires."

It was the defence case that, whoever the killer was, it was "certainly not David Morris", the judge continued.

The house was set alight after the attacks

"The defence has asserted who the killer was, and they suggest that the police got it right in 2000 when they arrested Alison Lewis."

During his speech, Mr Butterfield graphically described the murder scene, saying the upstairs of the house was "awash with blood."

"You would need a heart of stone not to be deeply affected by the photographs of the injuries," he said.

He also asked the jury to consider whether former suspect Alison Lewis would have been able to carry out the killings.

He reminded the jury she had left the police after being unable to cope with dealing with a suicide.

Mr Butterfield invited them to consider all the evidence presented to them, but also said they should "view with caution" evidence about a gold chain found at the scene of the crime.

Earlier in the week he said they might feel "anger and outrage" at the brutality of the murders, but told them there was no place for "emotion or prejudice."