Jurors deliberating in retired nurse murder trial
The jury in the case of a woman accused of the murder of a retired nurse has retired to consider its verdict.
Lucy Fox, of Bridgnorth, allegedly stabbed to death her mother, Judith Fox, 65, at her home in Haughton Drive, Shifnal, between June 12 and 14 last year because she was upset the property was being sold.
Partial remains of the grandmother were discovered in woodland next to the River Severn, off The Lloyds at Coalport, near Ironbridge the following month after an extensive police search.
Fox, 39, of Bernard’s Hill, Bridgnorth, is also accused of setting fire to a doormat at a property in Apley Park near Bridgnorth.
The prosecution case is that she entered her mother's home armed with a knife and killed her before removing the body. The defence case is that the evidence against the defendant is circumstantial.
Fox is being tried in her absence for offences of murder and arson with intent to endanger life and has offered no pleas.
The court previously ruled that she was “not fit to participate in the trial in any meaningful way” due to her mental health.
Summing up, judge Kristina Montgomery QC told the jury that the evidence "requires careful analysis".
She previously told the jury not to hold the defendant's absence against her and to consider the case based on the evidence before them.
The jury is only required to determine whether or not she committed the acts and is not required to bring in verdicts of guilty.
However, if the jurors are not sure that she committed the acts then Fox should be found not guilty.
Mrs Fox was a staff nurse at the Shropshire Star and Express & Star for 13 years before leaving to for a new job in 2011.
She had been working at a care home until shortly before her disappearance.
The trial continues.
