GUILTY UK - Lucy McHugh, 13, murdered,, Southampton, 25 July 2018

[Tortoise]

If they don't reach a verdict today, do we think they will sit tomorrow ? this case has not had any Friday court dates so far.

If it's because the judge isn't available on Fridays then probably not. I don't know if that's the reason.

 

[Alyce]

Daily Echo‏Verified account @dailyecho 56s57 seconds ago




Breaking news: Jurors in the trial of a man accused of murdering #Southampton schoolgirl Lucy McHugh have been told they can return a majority verdict http://bit.ly/2O4Ir4a

 

[Alyce]

JURORS in the trial of a man accused of murdering Southampton schoolgirl Lucy McHugh have been told they can return a majority verdict.

The Honourable Mrs Justice May DBE made the direction today to the jury in the trial of Stephen Nicholson at Winchester Crown Court.

It means that jurors will be able to return verdicts on which at least 10 of the 12 jury members agree.

 

[KarenUK]

JURORS in the trial of a man accused of murdering Southampton schoolgirl Lucy McHugh have been told they can return a majority verdict.

The Honourable Mrs Justice May DBE made the direction today to the jury in the trial of Stephen Nicholson at Winchester Crown Court.

It means that jurors will be able to return verdicts on which at least 10 of the 12 jury members agree.

I'm begining to worry here......

 

[Alyce]

I'm begining to worry here......

I would think it's a guilty verdict at this stage - I can't see that they would have 10 jurors going for a not guilty after only 9 hours or so of discussion.

If this were next week, I would think it could go either way

 

[Alyce]

Slightly different reporting here - could mean they are split in decision over the rape charges rather than the murder




Wave 105‏Verified account @wave105radio 19m19 minutes ago
BREAKING: The jury in the trial of 25y/o Stephen Nicholson, who's accused of murdering #Southampton schoolgirl Lucy McHugh, say they cannot reach a verdict on all counts so jury has been advised judge will accept a majority verdict

 

[Alyce]

Wave 105‏Verified account @wave105radio 54s54 seconds ago




NEWS: Care worker Stephen Nicholson, 25, found guilty of the rape and murder of #Southampton schoolgirl Lucy McHugh.

 

[Alyce]

Daily Echo‏Verified account @dailyecho 2m2 minutes ago




Breaking news: Stephen Nicholson has been found guilty of murdering schoolgirl Lucy McHugh http://bit.ly/2JF82MQ

 

[Alyce]

Stephen Nicholson, 25, of no fixed address, was found guilty by jury members today following a trial at Winchester Crown Court.

The decision was a unanimous decision.

Nicholson was also found guilty by a majority of three counts of rape against Lucy and guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child.

He was found not guilty of another count of sexual activity with a child.

 

[Alyce]

A lodger who killed a 13-year-old girl to stop her from exposing him as a sex abuser has been found guilty of murder.


Man guilty of murdering and raping girl

 

[Alyce]

She also detailed how she locked herself in the bathroom to avoid having sex with him


More at the link - Tattoo artist, 25, is found GUILTY of raping and murdering schoolgirl Lucy McHugh | Daily Mail Online





so she locked herself in the bathroom but no one noticed ?

 

[Alyce]

Sentencing tomorrow morning

 

[Alyce]

A serious case review is under way to examine what contacts agencies had with Lucy after it emerged that teachers had flagged up to social workers concerns that she was spending time unsupervised with older men.

A spokesperson from Southampton city council said: “The tragic death of Lucy McHugh will be subject to a serious case review.”



Care worker found guilty of murdering Lucy McHugh

 

[Alyce]

The case also focused attention on how difficult it is to obtain details of Facebook messages even following the most serious of crimes. It was only as the trial started, almost a year after Lucy’s death, that confirmation finally came through that she and Nicholson had communicated via Facebook shortly before she was killed.


Care worker found guilty of murdering Lucy McHugh

 

[Alyce]

Speaking outside court, DS Paul Barton, of Hampshire police, would not comment on the contacts between Lucy and other agencies. “We need to wait for the results of the serious case review,” he said.

 

[Alyce]

The prosecution had to rely in the trial on Nicholson's account of the contact between he had with Lucy on Facebook after contents of messages between them were lost following a year of delays.

Prosecutors were only given a full log of communications between the pair on the day the trial started after the social media company delayed giving detectives access due to rules set by Facebook and US laws on providing access to accounts.


Stephen Nicholson found guilty of the murder and rape of 13-year-old Lucy McHugh

 

[Alyce]

On what was meant to be the opening day of the four-week trial at Winchester Crown Court last month, prosecutor William Mousley QC revealed Facebook had only just supplied them with data from Lucy and Nicholson's accounts.

But after spending a day pouring over the information, it was discovered messages care worker Nicholson claimed had been sent between him and Lucy were no longer there.

Speaking during a break on the second day of the trial, Hampshire police Detective Chief Inspector Dave Storey said he had been left with a 'number of questions' after the data was received.

He added: 'As an investigator, I have things I would like to know, like 'when things were deleted, what they were', but that would have been more important if we did not have forensic evidence. It has been frustrating.'





more re the messages at this link


Tattoo artist, 25, is found GUILTY of raping and murdering schoolgirl Lucy McHugh | Daily Mail Online

 

[scapa]

The right verdict under challenging circumstances, IMO. I expect to learn more damning "details the jury didn't hear" over the next while, given the delays in handing over chat logs noted in the reporting and announced serious case review. Poor Lucy -- and on a day when we've just heard in the UK about large numbers of children as young as primary school-age being denied access to mental health aid.

 

[Alyce]

video link of DS Paul Barton, plus detailed outline of each charge and the verdicts


Lucy McHugh murder – Stephen Nicholson found guilty | Hampshire Constabulary

 

[Legally Bland]

Re. cooperation from facebook, this is what was said in another case (Sophie Lionnet), and I just don't believe it's true.

Police in the US get warrants all the time for facebook with similar evidence.
_______________

Tristan Kirk‏Verified account @kirkkorner
UK police investigating the murder of French nanny Sophie Lionnet wanted to access data from her #Facebook account, but were advised the US "test of probable cause" would not be met, so abandoned the effort.

Tristan Kirk on Twitter