Jury continues deliberations in murder trial
THE jury trying a man for the murder of his girlfriend was due to resume its deliberations this morning.
Dylan Harries is accused of repeatedly stabbing 19-year-old Katrina Evemy at her home in Llanelli in April, leaving her with wounds to her eyes, neck, arms, stomach and back.
Paramedics managed to re-start Miss Evemy’s heart, and she was rushed to Morriston Hospital – but she had suffered “catastrophic and irreversible” brain injury, and could not be saved.
Harries, 22, of Panteg in Llanelli, denies murdering his partner of seven-months, saying somebody else must have attacked her in her house in Graig Avenue.
Yesterday the jury at Swansea Crown Court heard closing statements from Patrick Harrington QC for the prosection and Christopher Clee QC for the defendant.
It is the prosection’s case that the relationship between the couple was coming to end – during a text message exchange between the pair shortly before she was attacked, Miss Evemy told Harries she was “sick” of their arguing, and he didn’t make her happy any more. That same day Harries had also made contact with a man Miss Evemy had kissed in a Llanelli club the week before and, the prosection allege, “wound up” and jealous Harries grabbed a knife from his kitchen and walked to his partner’s house, where he murdered her.
It is the defence’s case that police and prosecutors have got the wrong man – that an unknown person attacked Miss Evemy, and when the defendant got to her house on the late afternoon of April 13 he found her lying on the floor of the kitchen, gravely wounded and covered in blood.
After statements from both barristers the judge, Lady Justice Whipple, gave the jury legal directions and summed-up the evidence the court had heard.
She told the members of the jury that it was for the prosecution to make them sure Harries carried out the attack – the defence did not have to prove anything.
She said if they were sure he did it, they must return a guilty verdict – if they are not sure he did it, or think somebody else may have done it, they must return a not guilty verdict.
The judge said to them: “Are you sure that Dylan Harries, who sits before you in the dock, did cause the injuries on April 13 from which Katrina Evemy died?”
The court has previously heard how Miss Evemy suffered multiple knife wounds in the attack. As a result of her injuries the young mum lost a significant amount of blood and went into cardiac arrest – the resultant lack of blood to the brain caused catastrophic damage, and brain-death was confirmed by doctots on April 19.
The defendant’s DNA was subsequently found on the murder weapon but the defence maintain that can be explained because Harries briefly picked up the knife from the floor as knelt down beside his stricken partner before throwing it away.
After an hour of deliberations yesterday afternoon the jury was sent home for the night – it will resume today.
Harries denies murder, and the case continues.