Exeter murder trial: jury expected to retire today

VIDEO: Azum Mangori, 24, denies killing

The trial of the man accused of murdering Exeter woman Lorraine Cox in his city centre room last September is coming to its final stages.

Azum Mangori, 24, also known as Christopher Mayer, of no fixed abode, denies murdering Ms Cox, but admits the prevention of a lawful burial.

Ms Cox, 32, went missing after walking home in Exeter in the early hours on 1 September.

On Tuesday, defence and prosecution barristers finished their closing speeches and the judge began summing up. That's expected to conclude on Wednesday following which the jury will retire to consider their verdict.

The prosecution's case is that Mr Mangori killed Ms Cox, dismembered her and then tried to cover his tracks by making calls using her phone as if she were still alive.

The defence says that he panicked after she died in the flat, and whilst his subsequent actions may not have been right, he did not murder her. He feared being deported as his flat contained illegal tobacco and, as an Iraqi Kurd, he was in the UK illegally after his application for asylum failed.

The video report is from BBC Spotlight.