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| Becky Watts murder accused stepbrother admits manslaughter | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The stepbrother accused of killing and dismembering Becky Watts has admitted manslaughter but denies murdering her. | The stepbrother accused of killing and dismembering Becky Watts has admitted manslaughter but denies murdering her. |
| The 16-year-old vanished from her family home in St George, Bristol, in February. Her body parts were found in a garden shed several days later. | The 16-year-old vanished from her family home in St George, Bristol, in February. Her body parts were found in a garden shed several days later. |
| Nathan Matthews, 28, and his girlfriend Shauna Hoare, 21, are on trial at Bristol Crown Court charged with her murder, which they both deny. | Nathan Matthews, 28, and his girlfriend Shauna Hoare, 21, are on trial at Bristol Crown Court charged with her murder, which they both deny. |
| The pair were working as a team, the jury has heard. | The pair were working as a team, the jury has heard. |
| 'Blissful ignorance ridiculous' | 'Blissful ignorance ridiculous' |
| Becky's death was "no accident", prosecutor William Mousley QC said. | Becky's death was "no accident", prosecutor William Mousley QC said. |
| "The way in which she was killed, the circumstances of it show that he is guilty of murder," he told the court. | "The way in which she was killed, the circumstances of it show that he is guilty of murder," he told the court. |
| Addressing the jury, he described the "sheer implausibility" of Miss Hoare's version of events and "the ridiculous concept that she was in blissful ignorance of everything that was going on during that period of time". | Addressing the jury, he described the "sheer implausibility" of Miss Hoare's version of events and "the ridiculous concept that she was in blissful ignorance of everything that was going on during that period of time". |
| On Wednesday, the trial heard Mr Matthews had strangled the teenager after trying to kidnap her. | On Wednesday, the trial heard Mr Matthews had strangled the teenager after trying to kidnap her. |
| Mr Mousley told the jury the defendant admitted killing Becky and storing her body parts at Barton Court, had an "apparent dislike" of her and said he wanted to scare her to teach her a lesson. | |
| Jurors were also told the attack was "sexually motivated" by a couple who held "a shared unnatural interest in attractive teenage females". | Jurors were also told the attack was "sexually motivated" by a couple who held "a shared unnatural interest in attractive teenage females". |
| After his arrest, Mr Matthews told police he alone packed Becky's body into the boot of the couple's car without his girlfriend knowing and they then drove home to Cotton Mill Lane in Bristol. | |
| When Miss Hoare had gone to bed, he allegedly took the body into their house and over the coming days dismembered the body with a circular power saw and wrapped the various parts in plastic bags, the trial heard. | |
| The first witnesses: Jon Kay, BBC News, in court | |
| Miss Hoare, of Cotton Mill Lane in Bristol, is also charged with conspiracy to kidnap, perverting the course of justice, preventing the lawful burial of a corpse and possessing a prohibited weapon. She denies all counts. | |
| Mr Matthews, of Hazelbury Drive in Warmley, South Gloucestershire, has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, preventing the lawful burial of a corpse and possessing a prohibited weapon, but denies conspiracy to kidnap. | |
| Two other men on trial - Donovan Demetrius, 29, of Marsh Lane, Redfield, Bristol, and James Ireland, 23, of Richmond Villas, Avonmouth - each deny a charge of assisting an offender. | |
| Karl Demetrius, 29, and his girlfriend Jaydene Parsons, 23, both of Barton Court, Bristol, previously pleaded guilty to assisting an offender after Becky's body was found in their garden shed. | |
| However, both said they were unaware of what the packages actually contained. | |
| The trial is expected to last six weeks. | The trial is expected to last six weeks. |