Jury deliberating on Cheryl Hooper murder verdict
Jurors in the murder trial of a Shropshire farmer who shot his estranged wife in front of her teenage daughter have begun their deliberations.
Andrew Hooper, 46, known as Jack, denies murdering Cheryl Hooper on January 26 last year.
He is alleged to have callously shot the 51-year-old in front of her daughter outside her new home, in Farmers Gate, Newport, in a fit of rage and jealousy when she left him. He then turned the shotgun on himself.
Jurors were sent out to make their deliberations at a little before midday on Thursday, and spent nearly three and a half hours discussing the case in private.
The jury will decide whether Hooper, who is unable to speak due to severe facial injuries, is guilty or not guilty of murder, or if he is instead guilty of manslaughter.
Full coverage of the trial:
The prosecution alleges that Hooper, of Guild Lane, Sutton, near Newport, murdered his wife following a confrontation in a pub in Wolverhampton earlier that night.
He had seen her there with friends including a man he accused her of having an affair with.
Hooper says that the gun had discharged accidentally. He said that he had not intended to cause his wife "serious harm".
The jury heard that he had installed a tracking device to her car to find out where she was going.
West Mercia Police and Staffordshire Police was completed several weeks ago. The results are expected to be released shortly after the trial.
Mrs Hooper's death led to an outpouring of grief from the Newport community, which also banded together to raise funds in her name.
Thousands of pounds were collected for her family. There were nearly 200 supporters for the cause.
The trial continues at Birmingham Crown Court.
