THE Carlisle Crown Court jury hearing the Lee McKnight murder trial has now retired to begin considering verdicts after hearing the judge’s summing up.

The trial has entered its final phase after the The Honourable Mr Justice Hilliard completed his summing up of the evidence.

The prosecution says Mr McKnight, 26, was 'beaten to the point of death' after he was lured to a terraced house in Charles Street by 26-year-old Coral Edgar on the morning of July 24 last year.

Three men ­— Jamie Davison, 26, Arron Graham, 26, and Jamie Lee Roberts, 18 ­— are accused of attacking Mr McKnight over a drugs debt. Coral Edgar’s mum, Carol, 47, and Jamie Lee Roberts’ father Paul Roberts, 51, are accused of helping.

Over the past few days, the jury has heard the defence advocates give closing speeches.

All deny murder.

Richard Pratt QC, for Jamie Davison, said the evidence showed it was the youngest defendant, Jamie Lee Roberts, who went to Charles Street armed with a “knuckle-duster’ to attack Mr McKnight.

The claim – heard in earlier testimony – that Davison was a “psychopath”, said Mr Pratt, came from the teenager. “A cascade of lies had fallen from his lips,” he said.

“He was heard to say that Jamie Davison was a psychopath, and so the word psychopath has repeatedly appeared in questions, asked by [another advocate] in the case.

“Remember: the word originated not from any independent evidence but from the lips of an habitual liar, speaking to his former girlfriend; speaking on a prison phone. Can you trust a single word from this young man?”

Fiona Horlick QC, for Graham, said his defence case was simple. “He wasn’t at Charles Street at the material time,” she said. “He had nothing to do with enforcing Jamie Davison’s drugs debt.”

There was no evidence placing Graham at Charles Street when Mr McKnight was attacked, said the QC. – no CCTV footage, no mobile phone evidence; and no evidence to place him at the river where Mr McKnight was left, said the QC. Ms Horlick continued: “The only evidence [against Graham] comes from people in the dock, charged with murder themselves, who have their naked self-interest to serve. It’s evidence you need, not theories and not speculation.”

Richard Littler QC, for Jamie Lee Roberts, suggested it was Davison who was “drug-fuelled” and “out of control” on the morning Mr McKnight died. He said the teenager’s case was helped by evidence from his Snapchat messages and phone calls.

“It’s very clear from the evidence that Jamie Lee was upset by what happened at… Charles Street,” said the QC, referring to messages the teenager sent to his former girlfriend after Mr McKnight was attacked.

Those messages included: “I love you a lot, my girl.” Roberts also wrote, said Mr Littler: “It’s not my fault.” Those messages were emotional, said the QC. Mr Littler asked the jury: “Does Jamie Lee look like he’s bossing Jamie Davison and Arron Graham at… Charles Street? Does he look like he’s ‘The man’? at … Charles Street?”

Mr Littler said: “Those messages suggest something a bit different: that Jamie Davison is not telling the truth and actually Jamie Lee wasn’t the boss.”

The teenager’s father Paul Roberts, 51, said Mr Littler, had described his son “crying” and being “upset” when he rang him that morning.

Coral Edgar never chose to get involved in the “bloodbath” at her Carlisle home, Caroline Goodwin QC told the jury. The QC questioned what Coral - a woman at “rock bottom” and her drug-addicted mother Carol, 47 - could do to challenge the three men accused of meting out the violence.

“The difference between her and all the others,” said the QC “was that they made a choice to be there. She didn’t.”

Gordon Cole QC said Paul Roberts had nothing to do with ‘dumping’ Mr McKnight into the river and had tried to help him. The QC reminded the jury they had seen a CCTV image showing Roberts walking his dog in Carlisle as the Nissan truck was being abandoned.

Carol Edgar’s QC Toby Hedworth said she was not at Charles Street when Mr McKnight was attacked, wasn’t in her Nissan he was taken away in and did not consent for its use.

She returned home to “carnage,” not knowing who had done what.

The address for each defendant were given as follows: Davison, of Beverley Rise, Harraby; Graham, of Blackwell Road, Currock; Jamie Lee Roberts and his father Paul, of Grey Street, and Coral and Carol Edgar, of Charles Street, Carlisle.