JURORS in the Rhys Jones murder trial were yesterday considering their verdicts.

The seven women and five men retired to deliberate just before 11.30am to discuss what they had heard during the 10-week trial.

They returned to court just once, to ask to hear again one part of the bugging evidence from the home of defendant James Yates.

Sending them out, High Court judge Mr Justice Irwin said he could only accept a unanimous verdict. If the time should arise when he could accept a majority decision, he would let them know.

Earlier, the judge summarised the case for and against each defendant.

On alleged killer Sean Mercer, 18, Mr Justice Irwin said he was, on the Crown’s case, “the connecting thread” between all of the defendants.

He was the gunman, the prosecution say, and enlisted the help of all the other defendants to evade justice.

But the defence say there are no eye witnesses and no forensic evidence. Mercer’s case is he wasn’t the gunman, was elsewhere at the time and never went to the home of Boy M after the shooting.

Defendant Boy M’s account of Wednesday, August 22, 2007 – the night Rhys was killed – backs up much of what the prosecution allege, but he claimed he was acting under duress and helped Mercer and the others out of fear.