Covers the trial between August 20th and August 31st.

Other Kissel related material can be found in the Kissel category.

Update August 20th

* The Standard: Expert testifies on porn site search
* SCMP:

A dozen curious children made an appearance at Nancy Kissel's murder trial yesterday as a computer forensic expert explained how the defence came to suggest Kissel's husband had searched for homosexual and pornographic websites.
But the visit by the children, aged from six to 10, was cut short after defence counsel Alexander King SC asked Mr Justice Michael Lunn for a morning break five minutes earlier than usual when the group filed into the courtroom. He went to the public gallery to explain to the social worker taking the children on their first tour of the High Court that the material they would hear was not suitable for children.

Kissel, 41, is accused of bludgeoning top Merrill Lynch banker Robert Peter Kissel to death after drugging him with a sedatives-laced milkshake in their luxury Parkview flat on November 2, 2003.

She has admitted killing her husband but has pleaded not guilty to murder. She has told the court in her testimony that she had been subjected to sexual and physical assaults by her husband for years.

Benedict Pasco, the defence's computer forensic expert, was asked yesterday by Mr King if there was any danger of pop-ups or cookies for surfers of porn websites. The witness said it was very easy for those websites to scan the users' information, know when they were online, and then offer them certain images. Defence evidence had earlier suggested Kissel's daughter had seen pop-ups of pornographic images on a computer at home.

Using up-to-date forensic technology to trace internet use, Mr Pasco and his team had earlier rebuilt websites allegedly searched by the deceased on a computer and a laptop seized from the Parkview flat. The findings showed that Google searches on subjects such as "gay sex", "anal sex", "wife is a bitch", "Twinks", and "Paris gay massage" had been conducted on the computers.

In cross-examination by prosecutor Peter Chapman, Mr Pasco said he received instructions from Kissel's solicitor's firm on the keywords he had to search for. "Tell us the general areas the keywords covered?" asked the prosecutor. "They primarily focused on the homosexual area," said Mr Pasco, who added that the keywords also included "custody", "divorce", "father" and "children".

Update August 23rd

* The Standard: Trial Refocuses on Porn Searches
* SCMP: Kissel Defense Rests, Final Witness Not Called

The defence counsel for Nancy Kissel closed his case unexpectedly yesterday after he finished his re-examination of a computer forensics expert in the Court of First Instance.

Alexander King SC said there would be no more defence witnesses after Benedict Pasco testified on his findings of alleged internet searches for pornography and homosexual websites by Kissel's husband, Robert Peter Kissel.

Mr King had never indicated in court the number of witnesses he would be calling.

Mr Justice Michael Lunn told the jury they would hear the final chapter of evidence today, when the prosecution gave rebuttal evidence on the roles of the baseball bat and the metal ornament seized from the Kissels' Parkview flat.

Kissel told the court earlier that her husband used the bat to beat her in their bedroom on November 2, 2003, the day she allegedly murdered him. She said she used a metal ornament to defend herself and recalled that one of the two figurines on the ornament flew off when the deceased struck the metal base with the bat.

But the prosecution says Kissel dealt five fatal blows to the head of the senior Merrill Lynch banker after drugging him with a sedative-laced milkshake. Kissel has admitted killing her husband but has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Prosecutor Peter Chapman and Mr King are expected to begin their final submissions towards the end of this week.

Mr Justice Lunn asked the jury to remove from their trial papers a report by Olaf Drummer, the defence's forensic expert from Australia, after Mr King indicated the expert would not be called to testify. The report contradicts some of the findings of the prosecution's forensic expert on the drug contents of Robert Kissel's stomach and liver.

The judge also told the seven jurors he would seek to double their allowance because of the length of the trial.

In cross-examination of Mr Pasco, computer forensic expert of PGI Consultants, Mr Chapman pointed out that the witness' findings showed "porn-dialler" software had been installed in a desktop computer in Kissel's flat on September 14, 2002, and April 23, 2003. The software allowed the user to dial up pornographic websites at high charging rates.

Mr Chapman showed Mr Pasco travel records that showed the deceased was out of Hong Kong during the two installation periods.

"Whoever is responsible for installing the software ... cannot be Robert Kissel," he suggested.

The witness agreed.

Mr Chapman said Mr Pasco's investigations covered internet use between January 2002 and November 2003. He asked him how many days in that period of almost two years he could find material relevant to porn site searches. Mr Pasco said about three hours over two days. He also agreed that he had no idea whether the user was the deceased or a house guest.

In re-examination of Mr Pasco, Mr King said there were a large number of similarities between the subjects searched on the desktop computer and those searched for on the deceased's laptop. Both computers had been used to search for "anal sex" and "anal sex in Taiwan". The witness agreed. Mr King pointed out that travel records showed the deceased went to Taiwan for a three-day trip on April 8, 2003. He suggested the user of the desktop computer appeared to be searching on April 4 and 5 for sex services in Taiwan.

Mr King also read out a large number of Google keywood searches for porn sites on the laptop. The witness agreed that some of those websites were viewed.

Update August 24th

* The Standard: Baseball Bat Evidence in Question
* SCMP: Experts Cast Doubt on Kissel Claims Over Bat

A baseball bat Nancy Kissel claims her husband beat her with on the day he died did not carry his DNA, nor had it been used to strike forcefully the ornament she claims to have used in self-defence, government forensic scientists testified yesterday.

Pang Chi-ming, a DNA-typing expert recalled by the prosecution to give evidence in rebuttal yesterday, said he could only find an unidentified woman's DNA on the bat handle. He also told jurors in the Court of First Instance he could find no bloodstains on the bat.

Kissel, 41, had earlier told the court that Robert Peter Kissel had beaten her with the bat in the master bedroom of their flat in Parkview, Tai Tam, on November 2, 2003, after telling her he had filed for divorce.

She claimed she had used a metal ornament to fend off blows from the bat. Prosecutor Peter Chapman has told the court that Kissel used the 3.7kg ornament to deal five fatal blows to her husband's head after drugging him with a sedatives-laced milkshake.

In cross-examination, Alexander King SC, for Kissel, asked Dr Pang: "Would you agree that not everyone who touches the end of the baseball bat leaves DNA material detectable to tests?"

The witness replied: "I can say a light touch with my fingertip on the microphone may not leave my DNA behind. But if I grab it tight and keep moving it here and there, I ... believe DNA would ... be left."

The defence counsel asked if DNA traces could stay on the bat for six months. Mr Pang said it depended where the article was kept.

"Are you saying that in the history of that bat, only one person has ever held the handle?" asked the counsel. "I did not say that," the witness replied. He agreed when asked by Mr King if he was informed by police that the bat would not be tested for fingerprints.

Kissel admits killing her husband, a banker with Merrill Lynch, but pleads not guilty to his murder.

Forensic scientist Wong Koon-hung, another prosecution witness recalled to give rebuttal evidence yesterday, said the ornament was made of almost pure lead, a relatively soft metal that would leave traces even on a piece of paper after contact. "Therefore I would expect to find some lead smear on the bat had they been in contact. But I found none," he said.

Neither did he find lead traces on a white pillow case in which the bat was kept for a time after being found in the flat by defence solicitor Simon Clark. The exhibit was handed by the defence to the prosecution in court a month ago for the government laboratory to perform tests.

There were no traces of paint from the bat on the ornament.

"There has also been a suggestion that the curvature of the [ornament] base was caused by impacts of the baseball bat on the base. Did you conduct further tests?" asked Mr Chapman.

The expert said the indentations on the base measured 1.4cm and 1.8cm respectively. Dr Wong said two baseball bats were used in control experiments to hit two pieces of 2kg lead sheet at a 90-degree angle, resulting in maximum indentations of between 1.4cm and 2cm.

The strikes also produced an arc of regular V-shaped curvature on the sheets, with wood grain pattern on the deepest part of the groove. Lead smear was left on the surface of the bats. But the shape of the ornament base was "too irregular" to have been produced by the impact of the bat admitted as evidence, said the forensic expert.

He was not able to suggest what had produced the indentation shapes on the ornament.

Dr Wong told the court that he could not rule out the possibility the bat had been in contact with the metal ornament. But he said: "It's conclusive that the piece of metal had not been struck with the baseball bat with significant force.

"To cause that level of damage would require quite a significant force. Under such force, I would expect at least some wood grain pattern pertaining to the bat on the metal ornament."

In cross-examination, Mr King asked Dr Wong how many pieces of lead sheet he had used. He said he had three lead sheets with him and explained that he had hammered the pieces flat for further tests if he was not satisfied with the results.

The defence counsel said that meant the witness had destroyed results of earlier tests, and argued that any wood grain residue left on the lead sheets when they were struck with the bats could have been hammered out.

Mr King asked for the other lead sheets used in Dr Wong's tests to be brought to court for examination.

The case continues today.

Update August 25th

* The Standard: Expert denies methods flawed
* SCMP:Kissel defence challenges bat tests

The defence sought to cast doubt yesterday on a government forensic scientist's findings that the baseball bat Nancy Kissel said her husband beat her with had never been used to strike forcefully a lead ornament she claimed to have used in self-defence.

Alexander King SC suggested in the Court of First Instance that Wong Koon-hung was too anxious to find a basis to support the prosecution's argument that he had failed to consider potential flaws in his tests.

Kissel, 41, had earlier told the court she was beaten by Robert Peter Kissel, a senior Merrill Lynch banker, in their Parkview bedroom on November 2, 2003. She has admitted killing him but pleaded not guilty to murdering him.

Dr Wong had been asked early this month to find out if the arch in the base of the 3.7kg ornament was caused by blows from the bat. He said on Tuesday his tests, using 2kg lead sheets and two baseball bats, found no evidence of contact between the two objects.

Mr King asked if Dr Wong had tested the hardness of the lead sheets and the bats against the exhibits in the trial. Dr Wong said he had made the attempt, but the objects were too soft for hardness tests with the equipment in the government laboratory. Mr King asked if he had asked for funds to buy suitable equipment. He had not, because of time constraints.

Dr Wong also had not tested the type of wood the bats were made from. "Was there any reason?" Mr King asked. "Because I was more interested in general overall appearance of bats and their weight," Dr Wong replied. He agreed with Mr King that different wood could have different hardness.

Mr King pointed out the base of the ornament was 1.7cm thick, while the lead plates used in the experiments were about 25 per cent thinner. The bat in evidence, 67cm long and weighing 689g, was heavier and shorter than those used in the experiments.

Dr Wong said the ornament - a base of 15cm x 8.5cm surmounted by two figurines - was more resistant to bending, compared to the flat lead sheets he tested. Mr King asked why he had not had lead ingots made for the experiments. "I did inquire. But again, there's a time factor involved," he said, adding that the making of ingots could be dangerous because lead emitted toxic fumes when melted.

The witness was criticised by Mr King on Tuesday for destroying earlier experiment results by hammering the lead back to its original shape for further tests. He said yesterday it was not the lab's practice to photograph every test result.

Mr King also questioned Dr Wong about the discrepancy between the conclusions written by him and his superior in his police statement of August 5, 2005. He said Dr Wong's drafted conclusion was that "the baseball bat in the case had not been in contact with any of the metallic objects". But his superior's conclusion, which replaced Dr Wong's drafted conclusion on the statement, was that contact between the two objects could not be totally excluded.

"However, [the findings] indicated that the ornament base had not been struck by the bat with a significant force. Otherwise, impression marks showing wood grain patterns of the bat would likely be found on the metal," the superior wrote.

Mr King said: "Let me suggest to you that you were anxious to provide the police with some basis upon which the prosecution could argue in some way that the baseball bat never came into contact with the ornament." Dr Wong said the conclusion was based on his findings and discussion with his superior. "Anxious is a very subjective view. I knew I had to provide some results at a given time. But I was not anxious," he said.

In re-examination by prosecutor Peter Chapman, Dr Wong stressed he stood by the conclusion on his statement. He said he would expect to see some lead smear on the bat if it had struck the ornament. But he could find none.

Dr Wong said there was no wood paint left on the lead sheets he struck with the bats in his experiments - one of them painted, the other varnished. "It would never leave paint anyway, because there was no paint to leave," Mr Chapman said, in reference to the varnished one.

Mr Chapman will begin his closing submission tomorrow.

Update August 27th

* The Standard: Kissel case nears end
* SCMP: Prosecution gives closing argument in murder trial

A prosecutor gave his closing argument on Friday in an American housewife's murder trial, saying she was a cold-blooded killer who cheated on her wealthy husband before serving him a drug-laced milkshake and bashing in his head.

Speaking in a packed courtroom, prosecutor Peter Chapman rehashed much of the sensational testimony about alleged domestic violence, abusive sex, drug use and infidelity in Nancy and Robert Kissel's stormy marriage.

The nearly three-month trial has given the public a rare glimpse into the private world of wealthy expatriates.

Mr Chapman challenged the defense's argument that Nancy Kissel, 41, was defending herself against her violent banker husband who was armed with a baseball bat.

The lawyer said that the woman had planned the killing in the couple's luxury apartment in 2003.

"There was no provocation, no baseball bat," Mr Chapman said. "This is a cold-blooded killing."

Nancy Kissel allegedly beat her husband to death with a metal ornament.

"These injuries inflicted on Robert Kissel were not the result of a life-or-death struggle," he said. "There was no shouting, yelling, screaming."

Nancy Kissel has admitted dealing the fatal blows to her husband, a 40-year-old investment banker at Merrill Lynch. But she has pleaded innocent to murder, which involves premeditation.

Mr Chapman argued that the defendant planned the killing. He said she searched the internet for information about how to drug her husband.

Before the killing, she mixed Robert Kissel a milkshake laced with sedatives that disabled him, the prosecutor said.

After the killing, Nancy Kissel allegedly rolled her husband's body in a carpet and had maintenance workers haul it away to storage space rented by the couple.

The prosecutor also mentioned an affair that Nancy Kissel, who has three children, admitted to having with repairman Michael Del Priore, who lived in a trailer park near the couple's vacation home in the northeastern US state of Vermont.

"Nancy Kissel didn't want Robert Kissel alive anymore. She wanted the children, but Michael Del Priore was the man in her life," Mr Chapman said.

The prosecutor repeated testimony by witnesses, who said the victim was a loving, kind, soft-spoken husband who was well regarded by his company.

Nancy Kissel, dressed in black as she has been for much of the trial, was expressionless and often looked down at the floor as she listened to Mr Chapman's closing argument.

She has said her desperation and unhappiness in her marriage drove her to seek comfort in an affair, and that her husband was an abusive workaholic who used cocaine, drank too much and forced her to have anal sex.

She has testified that she cannot clearly remember what she did after her husband's death.

The victim was from New York. Nancy Kissel was born in Adrian, Michigan, but her family had also lived in Minneapolis, in the northern US state of Minnesota.

Update August 29th

* CNN:'Milkshake Murder' Trial Nears End
* The Standard: Moment of Truth Nears for Kissel

Update August 30th

* The Standard: Defence says police probe was 'substandard'
* The Standard: Prosecution case a farce
* SCMP: Kissel killed husband in self-defence, then 'melted down', says counsel

Nancy Kissel was "in fear for her life" as she beat her husband to death with a lead statue after he threatened to kill her, her lawyer told the Court of First Instance yesterday.

The defendant "melted down" after the trauma, leading her into a series of bizarre acts, including sleeping with her husband's body for at least two nights and calling his mobile phone twice, Alexander King SC said in his closing speech.

Mr King, who urged the jury to acquit Kissel of murder, argued that she had acted in lawful self-defence in the killing in November 2, 2003.

He said the prosecution, which alleged Nancy Kissel drugged her husband with a milkshake before dealing him five fatal blows, had failed to prove its case beyond doubt. It was the first time the defence had outlined its case since the trial began in early June.

Mr King said the fateful events were sparked when Robert Kissel, armed with a baseball bat, told his wife that he had filed for divorce and would be taking their three children.

"This was payback time. He was going to finally tell her that he was divorcing her, not her divorcing him. He had controlled every other aspect of her life. The one thing left in her life was her children," he said.

At the sight of the bat, the accused grabbed the lead heirloom from the dining room to protect herself. She was then dragged into the bedroom, where her husband demanded sex.

During the struggle, the deceased sat on his bed and found his forehead bleeding.

"Robert Kissel had never been hit before by his wife. It's always been him doing the beating. At that time, he lost his temper. He said: `I am going to f***ing kill you ... you f***ing bitch'," Mr King said.

He asked the jury to consider the shape of the injuries to Robert Kissel's head, which he said matched the curved shape of the ornament's damaged base. The defence contends that the base of the ornament arched up when Robert Kissel hit it with the baseball bat.

In his closing speech last Friday, prosecutor Peter Chapman argued that Nancy Kissel, 41, harboured a murderous intent because she had dealt five fatal blows to her husband's head.

But Mr King said adrenaline and fear had taken over his client as she flung the ornament at her husband.

"In the middle of a fight, how could someone of Mrs Kissel's size turn around, make sure that her husband didn't get up again" before deciding to deal further blows, he said.

The body of the senior Merrill Lynch banker was found on November 7, 2003, rolled up in a carpet in a storeroom at the luxury Parkview estate where the family lived.

Mr King described the banker as a paranoid and manipulative husband, who abused cocaine and subjected his wife to frequent sexual and physical assaults.

He suggested that Nancy Kissel had suffered from dissociative amnesia after the killing.

"Her behaviour could almost be described as bizarre. She almost went on living as if nothing had happened," he said.

Mr King said Nancy Kissel had not asked Parkview workmen to carry her husband's body to the storeroom until November 5, 2003.

"She must have spent at least two nights in her bedroom with the body. It shows that what happened afterwards was she melted down," he said.

The allegation that Nancy Kissel had been plotting to murder her husband with a sedatives-laced milkshake defied common sense, the Court of First Instance was told yesterday.

Alexander King SC, in his closing address for the defence, argued there was nothing to indicate that Robert Peter Kissel was under the influence of drugs on the afternoon of November 2, 2003, shortly before he was killed by his wife.

He said closed-circuit television stills at their luxury Parkview estate showed he was "multi-tasking" at about 5pm, talking on his mobile phone, carrying a newspaper and pressing lift buttons with ease.

Prosecutor Peter Chapman alleges that at about 3.30pm that day, the deceased and his neighbour, Andrew Tanzer, had been served two tall glasses of pink milkshake laced with four hypnotics - Stilnox, Rohypnol, Axotal and Lorivan - and an anti-depressant, amitriptyline.

Mr Tanzer's wife, Kazuko Ouchi, told the court earlier that her husband had passed out on the couch when he returned home from the Kissel apartment at 4pm and that later he had bizarrely treated himself to three tubs of ice cream at dinner.

A close colleague of the deceased, David Noh, said the senior Merrill Lynch banker sounded "slurry, mellow" and was "off the tangent" when he spoke to him on the phone at about 5pm.

But Mr King told the court the best evidence was the two witnesses who saw the deceased that afternoon. David Friedland, who met the victim with his son, Reis, in the Parkview playroom, gave "no evidence of slurred speech". Maximina Macaraeg, a maid at the Kissel home, also met him around that time at the car park and did not detect anything unusual.

"Nancy Kissel wasn't building up to this day in order to kill him," Mr King said, adding that the prosecution's case "defies common sense".

Kissel, 41, has admitted killing her husband but has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Mr King reminded the jury that Kissel had a photo shoot for her friend Samantha Kriegel's family on the morning of November 2. Kissel had also arranged to meet up with Scott Ligertwood, a popular children's entertainer, on November 4. She was also working on the annual dinner of the United Jewish Congregation and promotion of the November 16 dance performance in which her daughter had a role. Mr King said those events went against the theory of premeditation.

He argued that the foundation of the prosecution's allegations that Kissel killed her husband for money and to be with her lover in Vermont in the United States, Michael Del Priore, was weak. It would take a very long time for anybody to get their hands on the money from New York Life Insurance, which kept the deceased's US$18 million in wills and insurance policies, he said. "Their investigation would be a lot more thorough than the investigation of the police in this case," he said.

Kissel could have stayed behind in Vermont instead of returning to Hong Kong in 2003 if she wanted to be with what the prosecution said was "the new man in her life".

Mr King said Kissel's "loss of memory" after November 2, 2003, was genuine and accorded with her "bizarre" acts in the cover-up of the killing.

He said she told friends and her father, Ira Keeshin, many different versions of what happened to her husband. Some were told that her husband was "very, very sick", while some heard he had assaulted her during an argument before checking into a hotel.

"She got rid of the body on Wednesday probably because her father was coming that night, and the body began to smell," he said. The candles her father saw in the apartment were probably put there to clear away the smell, Mr King said.

The placing of four brightly coloured cushions on top of the carpet roll in which her husband's body lay was also "entirely bizarre".

Mr King's closing submission continues today.

Update August 31st

* The Standard: Judge spells out options to jury as trial nears end
* The Standard: 'No cold-blooded killer'
* SCMP: Were blows reasonable or excessive. judge asks Kissel jury

The judge in the trial of Nancy Ann Kissel said yesterday the jury had to consider whether the force she used to deal the five fatal blows to her husband's head was "reasonable" or "in excess" when deciding whether she is guilty of murder.

Mr Justice Michael Lunn told jurors in the Court of First Instance they had to be sure the injuries Kissel inflicted on Robert Peter Kissel, a senior Merrill Lynch banker, were intended to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to satisfy one of the conditions for a murder verdict.

Recalling evidence, he said forensic experts identified five curved lacerations on the upper right side of the deceased's head, with fractured skull driven into the brain, causing "massive spillage of brain substance". "Did the defendant believe it was necessary to use force to defend herself? If yes, was the amount of force she used reasonable?" he said.

Defence counsel Alexander King SC said Kissel, 41, was attacked by her husband with a baseball bat as he was attempting to force anal sex on her in their Parkview flat on the night of November 2, 2003. He argued she had acted lawfully when she swung a heavy lead ornament in self-defence.

Mr Justice Lunn reminded the jury that Mr King had argued Kissel had reacted "on the spur of the moment" as her husband said "I will f***ing kill you" in the bedroom of their flat. He described the victim, 180cm tall and 69kg, as "well-built" and "athletic". By contrast, Kissel was a "slightly built female".

However, the judge reminded jurors that forensic pathologist Lau Ming-fai said each of the five blows "required a great amount of force" and that there was no self-defence injuries on his upper limbs, which led him to conclude he had "little or no motion at the time the blows were dealt to his head". If the force used was unreasonable, Kissel could not be acquitted on the basis of self-defence, the judge said.

Mr Justice Lunn also directed jurors to consider a reduced verdict of manslaughter by reason of provocation if they believed the conduct of the victim had caused Kissel to "suddenly and temporarily lose her self-control".

The judge repeated Kissel's claim that she had been physically and sexually abused by her husband for five years, resulting in broken ribs, bruises and a black eye on different occasions. Kissel had also testified about the bedroom struggle with her husband on November 2 after he told her he had filed for divorce and was taking their three children, he said.

If the jury did not believe the killing was provoked by the victim's conduct, the verdict would be guilty of murder, he said. But if the victim's conduct could "cause the defendant of such age and sex to do what she did", a verdict of manslaughter would be returned.

He said jurors could consider Kissel's good character and years of aid to the United Jewish Congregation, Hong Kong International School and deprived children of Vietnam when considering the credibility of her evidence. "If you think self-defence may be true, you may acquit," he said.

He instructed jurors to consider the credibility of oral testimony by its consistency. An example he gave was the evidence of Kissel's father, Ira Keeshin, who said in his police statement his daughter told him in a phone call on November 3, 2003, that her husband had slammed her into a wall in 2002. But in court last month, he said he had heard about the assault in 2002. Asked by prosecutor Peter Chapman, he accepted his oral testimony was incorrect.

Mr Justice Lunn drew the jury's attention to conflicting versions of the events of November 2 given by Kissel to the court, her father, friends and a colleague of her husband, but added there could be innocent reasons, such as panic or confusion.

Earlier yesterday, Mr King told the jury in his closing submission they should not consider a verdict of manslaughter by provocation. He argued that Kissel acted in lawful self-defence and was entitled to be acquitted of murder.

Kissel wept in the dock as her lawyer outlined the case.

Mr King said the victim was not rendered unconscious or severely impaired after he and his neighbour Andrew Tanzer drank a milkshake prepared by Kissel on November 2. He said the amount of drugs found in his body was insufficient. The banker was talking on his mobile and walking around in Parkview when Mr Tanzer, who passed out on his couch about 4pm, was severely affected, he said.

"Evidence all points to the direction that he didn't receive the same dose as Mr Tanzer," said Mr King.

The lawyer said Kissel did not ask for the sedatives Rohypnol, Lorivan and Stilnox and anti-depressant amitriptyline during her several visits to clinics shortly before November 2; they were prescribed to her by her doctors.

He said the video recorded by Rocco Gatta, a private investigator hired by Robert Kissel to follow his wife in Vermont, had no sign of Kissel's lover, Michael Del Priore. He said it showed nothing other than a "beautiful countryside", a "very expensive home" and a van parked at the house at night several times.

Mr King criticised the government's bloodstain pattern analysis experts for missing a large number of blood spots and not looking for the extent of cleaning up of the blood in their investigation.

Mr Justice Lunn continues his directions to the jury today.