A JURY has been sent out to decide its verdicts on the three people accused of killing six children in a house fire in Derby.
The seven men and five women, who have sat through 31 days of evidence, were sent to deliberate yesterday afternoon.
Justice Kate Thirlwall told them to focus on the evidence and not to base their judgments on "speculation."
On directing them to choose a foreman who will deliver the verdicts on Mick and Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosley, she said: "All 12 of you are as important as the next person.
"There is no pressure on you to come back quickly, you must consider all the questions you want answering to satisfy your own minds.
"The question is 'am I sure these defendants were involved in setting this fire?'.
"If you are not sure then they are not guilty."
The Philpotts and Mosley are each charged with six counts of manslaughter.
It is alleged they hatched a plan to start a fire in the hallway of the Philpotts' Allenton home in the early hours of May 11 last year.
The prosecution's case is that the plan, "which went tragically wrong", was to frame Philpott's former live-in lover, Lisa Willis, who walked out on him with her five children three months before the blaze.
All three defendants deny the charge.
The jury failed to reach verdicts during the two hours they deliberated yesterday and were called back into courtroom one at Nottingham Crown Court at the close of the day.
They were told to come back and continue discussing the case in the jury room on Tuesday, after the Easter break, as the court is not sitting today.
Justice Thirlwall said: "It is not an ideal situation but it was discussed with both the prosecution and defence and was agreed by all parties as the best way to progress the case."
Philpott, 56, his 32-year-old wife and Mosley, 46, of Cecil Street, Derby, were flanked by dock officers as Justice Thirlwall completed two days of summing up the trial.
Philpott wore a gold chain outside his shirt which he continually touched and held during yesterday's hearing.
During yesterday's summing up, Justice Thirlwall ran through a number of witnesses that gave evidence.
Speaking about Philpott, who was in the witness box for more than two days, she told the jury: "He was in the box for a long time and you had a very good opportunity to assess him.
"He denied being involved in setting the fire, he said he wished he knew who had and that he had his suspicions as to who had done it.
"He said the first thing he thought of was his children.
"And he said he did not remember anything from the time he left his neighbour, Frankie Blavin's house [where he went immediately after the fire] and arriving at the Royal Derby Hospital."
Justice Thirlwall said Philpott's answer, when he was asked if he had set the fire while Mairead was asleep, was "no, I love my children, I would not do anything to put them in danger."
The judge then summed up the evidence that Mairead gave during her two days on the witness stand earlier in the trial.
She told how Mairead's suicide attempt, which happened 10 days after Ms Willis walked out of 18 Victory Road, was "a serious attempt" and after it she did not return to work.
Justice Thirlwall said: "Mrs Philpott said she never thought about taking advantage of the situation with Lisa not in the house and where she could have Mick all to herself.
"Mrs Philpott said in evidence 'if there was a plan then I had nothing to do with it'."
Justice Thirlwall reminded the jury that Mosley chose not to give evidence during the trial, something she said they were entitled to draw "adverse inferences" on.
She said: "What you have there is his witness statements.
"He did not give evidence and the defendant is entitled to remain silent.
"It does not mean he is guilty.
"The decision not to give evidence may add weight to the prosecution case. That is for you to decide."
