Jury out in blue lagoon murder
A jury started its fifth day of deliberations today in the trial of several family members accused of killing a man and dumping his body in a lake.
The decapitated body of 26-year-old Michael Gilbert was found in the privately-owned Blue Lagoon in Arlesey, Bedfordshire, last May.
Luton Crown Court has heard Mr Gilbert, who was described as a "vulnerable" man, was kept a slave at the home of the Watt family in the town and tortured for his benefit money before being killed.
James Watt, 27, from Chertsey Close, Luton, Beds, denies murder but has pleaded guilty to familial homicide and perverting the course of justice.
His brother Robert Watt, 20, has been acquitted of murder but also denies familial homicide. He has already pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
A third brother Richard Watt, 25, has already previously pleaded guilty to familial homicide and perverting the course of justice.
Their father Antonio Watt, 60, was acquitted of familial homicide last month but remains on trial for perverting the course of justice.
The mother, Jennifer Smith-Dennis, 58, denies familial homicide and perverting the course of justice.
Nichola Roberts, 21, the girlfriend of Richard Watt, and James's girlfriend Natasha Oldfield, 29, both deny murder, familial homicide and perverting the course of justice.
The jury, which retired on Friday, continued its deliberations in the case today.
