Jury out in trial of teenagers accused of killing Angela Wrightson

The defendants, aged 13 and 14 at the time Ms Wrightson was savagely killed in her Hartlepool home in December 2014, have been standing trial at Leeds Crown Court for the past eight weeks.

The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, both deny murder, but the older girl, now aged 15, pleads guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Ms Wrightson, who was 39 when she was killed, suffered more than 100 separate injuries when she was attacked in her rented house in Stephen Street. She had been attacked with a variety of weapons including a television, table, printer and shovel.

On his final morning of summing up the case, judge Justice Henry Globe recounted evidence given in the case from psychiatrists Dr Indranil Chakrabarti, for the defence of the older the girl, and Dr Kenny Ross, for the prosecution.

Sending the jury of eight women and four men out to consider their verdicts, he said: "You must have as long as you need. "Some juries take a short time, some a very short time. "It's very important that you must not feel under any pressure."

Mr Justice Globe added that he currently will only accept a unanimous verdict from the jury. "It's important that you strive to reach a unanimous verdict in each case," he said. "If a time comes when it is possible for me to be able to accept a majority verdict, then I will take the initiative.

"For the moment, please put majority verdicts out of your mind and strive to find a verdict which each and every one of you agree on."