A JURY has been sent out to consider its verdict today (Thursday) in the case of two former lovers accused of murdering a debt collector lured to their home.
Scott Davidson, 23, and Rachael Horton, 19, deny a joint enterprise to murder Martin Ithell, of Boughton, Chester, at their house in Frodsham on March 11.
The prosecution at Liverpool Crown Court says their motive stemmed from having no means of repaying the £26,000 they owed at a time when Mr Ithell was heaping on the pressure to get his money back.
The court has heard Davidson, a Chester doorman, spent the money on household bills, the purchase of a high performance Subaru Impreza car and insurance for that vehicle.
Davidson, who is wearing a blue jumper in the dock, is accused of shooting Mr Ithell, 49, with a double barrelled shotgun taken from his father's house in Elton but says he was acting in self-defence.
The firearm went off accidentally when Davidson was attempting to scare off Mr Ithell, whom he says was threatening him and his girlfriend with a handgun.
Horton, who is dressed in a white patterned top, says she armed herself with a kitchen knife to protect herself but it was Davidson who grabbed it from her before stabbing Mr Ithell in the neck.
The teenager, from Little Sutton, who worked in tele-sales for a Deeside bed company, says her admission at the scene that she did the stabbing was to protect her then fiance.
The jury of six men and six women was sent out to consider its verdict at 1pm. Family members for the defendants and the deceased are present in court.
