JUDGE'S SUMMING UP
Judge resumes summing up case
The judge, Mr Justice Spencer, has resumed summing up the case here at Chester Crown Court.
He is reviewing the evidence about the familys financial situation.
10:55
Judge reminds jury of family's debts
​The judge tells the jurors:
The overall position on August 31 was, you may think, pretty serious.
The total the family owed then was £45,781, the jurors are reminded. The family owed £17,000 to the builder, £6,000 to a joiner, more than £2,000 to an electrician, £690 to a plumber, £3,200 to a plasterer/renderer, and £4,835 to a second plumber, the jurors are told.
The court hears they owed more than £40,000 on loans applied for from February of last year.
A financial analyst who examined the finances had found that the family owed a total of £103,000​, the judge reminds the jurors.
10:59
Judge reminds jury that analyst agreed there was no financial benefit from Leanne's death
​By September 28, the day Leanne McKie died, the total sum owed had risen to £115,200 excluding the mortgage, Mr Justice Spencer tells the jury.
However, he reminds the jury that during cross-examination the financial analyst had agreed that up until the death the McKies had never defaulted on a single payment when it was due.
The witness also agreed there was no evidence that Darren McKie had spent money on drinking, gambling, women or drugs in the eight years of financial records that were examined.
He also agreed the couple did not have life assurance policies and nor a mortgage protection policy.
Mr Justice Spencer tells the jurors:
He agreed that through her death there was a loss of her salary and no benefit at all from her untimely death.
11:01
Judge on McKies' homes
The jurors are reminded that when the family moved into the family home on Burford Close in September last year they were £1,500 a month better off because they were no longer paying for a second household.
The family had been rented a property nearby while building and renovation work continued at their home on Burford Close.
11:08
Darren McKie's two failed loan applications
The judge reminds the jury about a £10,000 loan from AA Loans the defendant had applied for on August 31 without his wifes knowledge.
The defendant had applied using his personal mobile number and a Yahoo email address which of course Leanne knew nothing about, said Mr Justice Spencer.
The first application was declined and so was a second which was made five minutes later, the court hears.
When the defendant made the second application, the only difference was one digit on the landline he had entered, the jurors are told.
The judge says Darren McKie may have made a mistake during his first application.
11:17
Leanne confronted Darren over loan applications
The judge says that Leanne McKie must have opened the letters declining those loan applications when they arrived at the home on September 5, prompting her to phone AA loans to find out what was going on.
She had just found these two letters addressed to her husband about loan applications she knew nothing about, Mr Justice Spencer tells the jurors.
Leanne McKie texted her husband but he denied making the applications, the court is told.
Im worried someone has my details, Darren McKie texted to his wife, the jurors are reminded.
AA Loans then promised to start an investigation as it appeared Darren McKie had been a victim of impersonation, the court is told.
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