WITH the jury unable to reach a verdict in the Scott Cooper murder trial, here is some of the evidence its members heard over the last three weeks.
In a shock move on Friday, the jury was discharged.
The date and venue for any re-trial is yet to be decided.
Adam Feest QC, prosecuting, said the intention was for the case to be re-tried.
Read more:
During the trial, it was revealed Mr Brazier's nickname in prison was Zorro, after the masked caped swordsman.
He told the trial jury he had previously been sentenced to seven years for burglary.
Asked if it was because he wore a mask, or a cape, or if it was because he was known to use knives, Mr Brazier said he had been found to have used a knife in a previous burglary.
The scene in Ryde back in January.
Multiple witnesses were called to give evidence from the witness box.
Among them was Aimee Beazley — Mr Brazier's ex-girlfriend — who he had called on the night of the murder, and who reported the body.
Read more:
- Scott Cooper murder trial suspect denies killing victim
- Scott Cooper murder trial hears how body was dumped in shower
She told the court the body was laying on the floor in Mr Brazier's bedroom, and suspected it was all a "wind up" — a joke — to begin with.
The court heard the pair cuddled for around 30 seconds, and Ms Beazley said Mr Brazier embraced her like it was a forever last cuddle — a forever goodbye.
Ms Beazley said she recalled Mr Brazier not making much sense on the phone, and stating repeatedly: "It was him or me".
Another to be called to the stand was Jacob Evans, who told the jury he witnessed the murder.
He claimed Mr Brazier had given him a "shush" gesture on his arrival at the flat, putting a finger to his lips.
Read more:
- Scott Cooper murder suspect reveals Zorro was prison nickname
- Scott Cooper murder trial: witness thought it was 'a wind up' at first
He said he saw Mr Brazier "blindside" Mr Cooper as he was sat on the floor — approaching him from beyond his peripheral vision — and stab him in the chest.
Mr Evans said it caused Mr Cooper to fall on his back, and Mr Brazier then mounted him and stabbed him in the eye.
Mr Evans claimed he saw Mr Brazier stab Mr Cooper three or four times thereafter, holding the knife with both hands.
Over the course of four police interviews, Mr Brazier's account changed.
The scene in Ryde back in January.
He initially claimed to not have seen who murdered Mr Cooper — to have returned home and found his body in the shower tray in his bathroom.
By the day of his trial, his recollection of events had changed dramatically.
He claimed to have seen Mr Cooper murdered — and to have been threatened to speak nothing of it, at knifepoint.
Mr Brazier said he saw another man stab Mr Cooper with a knife.
Mr Brazier couldn't explain why, in police interview, he had pointed to another man's photo but wouldn't name him, as the person who killed Mr Cooper.
When asked in court why he wouldn't tell the police out loud, he said: "My head was all over the place."
Scott Cooper. Pictures provided by Jacky Barnes.
A post mortem revealed Mr Cooper had suffered more than 20 injuries, ranging from stab wounds to grazes.
Three were stab wounds to his neck; among them, the principle injury, which would have proved rapidly fatal.
The attack was described by Mr Feest as savage, determined and sustained, and he said it was clear the perpetrator intended to kill Mr Cooper.
The court heard police had attended Mr Brazier's address twice — the first time at around 2.50am, acting on information that there had been a domestic complaint.
Not looking for a body at this stage, Mr Feest said officers did not look behind the closed shower curtain, and when one noticed a speck of blood on Brazier's hand, they accepted what he told them — that he had suffered a nose bleed earlier in the day.
Following further calls to police, officers attended the address a second time at approximately 12.48pm.
Mr Feest said they soon discovered the body of Mr Cooper, upside down in a shower cubicle, and Mr Brazier was arrested on suspicion of murder.
House Rules
We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.