Sean Ember murder trial enters final stretch

After more than a month, Judge Angela Morris is set to summarise the case before sending the jury out to deliberate on a verdict at Winchester Crown Court. This is expected to be at around lunchtime on June 17.

Both Steven Perian KC, prosecuting, and defence barrister Andrew Bird KC gave summed up their arguments in favour of and against Griffith's culpability for stabbing Sean Ember, a "loving and thoughtful" father, at an address on Arcaro Road in 2024.

Mr Perian painted Griffith as a "a very good story teller", arguing that the defendant has acted skilfully in his attempt to portray Fynn Richardson, who Griffith says murdered Sean Ember, as the killer rather than himself.

"This defendant is not just intelligent, but deeply manipulative," said Mr Perian.

"He weaves in detail after detail, not because it's true, but because it suits his purpose. He needs to be in control.

"When it didn't go according to his plan, he presented a version of events, desiring to cast himself in the best possible light - I'm the victim.

"At the scene he was not a bystander - he was directing.

"He remained constantly by Fynn Richardson's side, not out of concern, but to control him, to make sure that he didnt tell police the truth: that it was this defendant who stabbed Sean Ember.

"He didnt want Fynn Richardson to be arrested becaus if Fynn had been taken away, the truth would have come out."

Mr Bird, on the other hand, told the jury they could not be sure it was not Fynn Richardson, rather than Griffith, who murdered Sean Ember.

Calling into question the rigour of the police's investigation, he said: "This isn't just gratuitous criticism of the police - they have a difficult job, but they have to be fair.

"But how can you be sure that Fynn is telling the truth when [...] [the police] have not investigated the case with the open mind the law requires?"

Concluding his closing argument, Mr Bird added: "Justin Griffith's crime here was to tell lies in a stupid attempt to protect Fynn, and the police made a decision to believe Fynn before they had Justin Griffith's account, and, more importantly, before they had the forensic evidence.

"You cannot be sure that it was Justin Griffith that killed Sean Ember. It could have been, but that is not enough - it could have been Fynn."