A JUDGE has told jury members that an IT worker accused of poisoning a married couple “is not on trial for being weird or very odd”.

Sir Nicholas Lavender gave the jury in Luke D’Wit’s murder trial legal directions on the 17th day of proceedings at Chelmsford Crown Court.

D’Wit, 34, of Churchfields, West Mersea, denies murdering Stephen and Carol Baxter, who were found dead at their home in Victory Road on Easter Sunday last year.

The case is due to hear from two final witnesses today, and the jury is expected to retire next week to deliberate on whether D’Wit had intended to kill the Baxters with lethal doses of fentanyl and promethazine.

Gazette: Court - the jury has been hearing the case in ChelmsfordCourt - the jury has been hearing the case in Chelmsford (Image: Newsquest)

Before the jury retire, however, a judge is required to provide what are known as legal directions, meaning the jurors receive instructions as to what the law is in relation to the defendant’s actions.

High Court Judge Lavender outlined briefly the positions of the prosecution and the defence as well as the facts of the case yesterday.

He said: “There is no suggestion [the Baxters] died doing anything in self-defence - nor is there a suggestion that the person who administered the fentanyl intended anything other than to cause serious harm.”

“Your verdict on each count must be the same - either guilty on both, or not guilty on both,” he told the jury.

Judge Lavender continued by briefly outlining D’Wit’s defence, which was that Carol and Stephen Baxter were alive when D’Wit left their address in on April 7 last year.

He said: “D’Wit chose to give evidence - he could have stayed in the dock and done nothing.

Gazette: Defendant - Luke D'Wit has appeared in a wheelchair throughout the trialDefendant - Luke D'Wit has appeared in a wheelchair throughout the trial (Image: Essex Police)

“He did not assume any burden of proving his innocence in doing so.”

Judge Lavender also referred the jury back to a suggestion made by Ellena Baxter, who told the court that her parents found D’Wit “a bit weird, nerdy weird”.

He said: “D’Wit is not on trial for being weird, being unusual, or being very odd - he is on trial for murder.

“You’ve heard no evidence he suffers to any mental health condition.

“It is for you to decide whether, and if so, to what extent, the evidence in relation to that conduct assists you to decide the questions you must consider.”

The trial continues.