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April Jones: jury hears testimony of seven-year-old friend | April Jones: jury hears testimony of seven-year-old friend |
(35 minutes later) | |
April Jones seemed happy when she allegedly got into a Land Rover driven by the man accused of her abduction and murder, her best friend told police. | |
The jury in the case against Mark Bridger has been shown a video of a police interview the seven-year-old friend gave the day after April vanished. | |
Clutching a cuddly rabbit, the friend told police she and five-year-old April had been about to go home because it was getting dark. | Clutching a cuddly rabbit, the friend told police she and five-year-old April had been about to go home because it was getting dark. |
She claimed she saw April talking to a man standing beside a grey Land Rover. April then allegedly got into the front of the Land Rover, before clambering into the back, the girl, who cannot be named, said. | |
The girl said: "She got in the car. The man didn't put her in the car. She wasn't crying. She was happy. She got in the back of the van. It just drove off." | The girl said: "She got in the car. The man didn't put her in the car. She wasn't crying. She was happy. She got in the back of the van. It just drove off." |
April went missing as she played near her home in the mid-Wales town of Machynlleth in October last year. | April went missing as she played near her home in the mid-Wales town of Machynlleth in October last year. |
Mold crown court in north Wales was told by the prosecution that Bridger, 47, abducted April, murdered her and then concealed, disposed of or destroyed her body. | |
He denies the offences and claims he accidentally hit April in his car, drove off with her body and cannot remember what he did with it. | He denies the offences and claims he accidentally hit April in his car, drove off with her body and cannot remember what he did with it. |
The friend told police the man she saw looked as if he was waiting for someone. She expressed surprise that April had got into the vehicle as the little girl's parents had told her not to get into cars. | |
At one point the girl said she wasn't good at remembering – she had even forgotten her school PE kit that day. | At one point the girl said she wasn't good at remembering – she had even forgotten her school PE kit that day. |
After the hour-long video was played to the jury, the seven-year-old girl began to give live evidence – via videolink – to the court. | After the hour-long video was played to the jury, the seven-year-old girl began to give live evidence – via videolink – to the court. |
She was shown the pictures of the spot where she had been playing with April and told the court one image showed a location "close to where it all happened". | She was shown the pictures of the spot where she had been playing with April and told the court one image showed a location "close to where it all happened". |
The girl wore a T-shirt with the word Love on the front of it and had positioned her teddy bear – which she said was called Minty – on a desk in front of her. | |
The trial continues. | The trial continues. |
guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am | guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am |