In conclusion, members of the jury, you took an oath in this case to try the case on evidence
"You bring with you a vast amount of common sense - you live in the real world, you've knocked about a bit, you know what the score is.
"There are 12 matters which I respectfully admit will lead you in the right direction:
"1) Defendant said if he does not want to do something he will not do it.
"There is a world of difference between being asked by a teacher and being asked by a stranger to do something
"There is no mystery male, it was just him.
"2) On August 12 why did he have his hood up and hands in his pockets while wearing his tracksuit top and bottoms as he walked down Whitewell Road towards the Coppice?
3) Who was the lone male on the coppice minutes before Lindsay Birbeck was attacked? With a hood up, grey tracksuit bottoms, grey tracksuit top.
4) The mystery male would confess to a random stranger and the person who he confessed to would dispose of the body. We submit that that is implausible beyond belief.
5) Consider the efforts he went to on August 12 - it went above and beyond disposing of a body. It involved him returning to the scene with a rucksack and staying at the coppice until nightfall.
6) Consider the efforts he went to after August 12 until Saturday 24.
7) After he moved the body what was his focus on? We submit it was on Accrington Cemetery. We don't see him after August 17 going back to the coppice to check for the money. We don't see him on 18, 19, or 20 to check for the money, he is busy in the cemetery
8) Look at what he did - the police dog didn't find the body
9) Forensic awareness - he didn't have forensic awareness - cutting the sole off trainers, the gloves, the saw - he did it all alone. What about her other items of clothing? Her fitbit watch, her jacket, her phone. She is found naked. What happened to her leggings? Why did she have to be buried naked? What happened to those items?
10) He didn't say a word until confronted, until he was recognised by his teachers and his own family
11) Prepared statement provided on August 30, 18 days after Mrs Birbeck was killed
12) When you put it all togther, the combination of all that evidence, we submit on common sense it points fairly and squarely to the defendant being the killer in the case.
Lindsay Birbeck murder retrial - teenager will NOT give evidence as case against him concludes