Second night in hotel for Dando jury

Barry George denies murdering TV presenter Jill Dando

The Jill Dando murder trial jurors have been sent to a hotel for a second night without reaching a verdict.

The judge told them to "try and have a complete break and have as good as rest as possible", before returning to continue their deliberations on Friday.

Earlier on Thursday, their second day of deliberations, they rewatched video identification parade evidence.

They spent nearly two hours in court watching the videos of five witnesses attending the parades, then returned to their room to consider their verdict on Barry George, 41, who denies shooting the TV presenter.

The jury of seven women and five men were sent out by the trial judge on Wednesday, after hearing evidence since the start of the trial on 4 May.

Miss Dando was shot through the head with a single bullet outside her home in Gowan Avenue, Fulham, south west London, on 26 April 1999.

Miss Dando was shot through the head

On Wednesday, Mr Justice Gage warned the jurors not to discuss the case with anyone or even among themselves.

He had earlier told them they should not feel under any pressure to reach a verdict.

He also warned them at the start of his summing-up to put out of their minds any feelings of emotion, sympathy or prejudice when deciding their verdict.

Forensic evidence

He told them to concentrate on the evidence they had heard in court with a "cool head and dispassionate view".

In his summing-up he also reminded them of the evidence.

Mr Justice Gage said they had to be convinced by three main planks of the prosecution's case.

These were the implausibility of Mr George's alibi; the strength of the eyewitnesses who placed him in Gowan Avenue and the forensic evidence against him.

He spoke about the particle of firearm discharge residue found on the defendant's inside pocket - a result, according to the defence, of innocent contamination.