One of the men accused of murdering Jordan Watson was unusually quiet during a driving lesson on the day the teenager's body was found, a jury heard.
Jordan Watson photo
Jordan Watson
At Carlisle Crown Court today, the jury heard a statement from Marie Tomlinson, who gave George Thomson a two hour lesson on June 16, the day Jordan's body was found at Upperby Cemetery.
Thomson, 19, of Upperby Road, Upperby, along with Brahnn Finley, 19, of Furze Street, off London Road and Daniel Johnston, 20, of Petteril Bank Road, Harraby, all deny murder.
In her statement, the driving instructor said he was always pleasant and polite during lessons, and never swore.
Recalling that lesson on June 16, she said: "He put his phone in the console as he normally does and we then drove off. I recall that George was quiet as on other days we go into the car and he would crack on to me about stuff. I got the impression that on this day he didn't want to speak."
During the lesson, she said, Thomson's phone went off about four or five times, prompting her to say that somebody was keen to get hold of him. He said the calls were "doing his head in."
Earlier in the trial, a friend of Thomson's, Lewis Parkin, told how he arranged to meet George Thomson on the evening June 16 last year and went with him to a McDonald's restaurant in the city, where they chatted.
Mr Parkin recalled how while he was with Thomson, just before 8pm that night, his friend got a call from the police, asking him to go to the police station to speak to them.
Afterwards, said Mr Parkin, Thomson told him: "Whoever stabbed that Jordan, I hope they don't come after me.
"It's a bit close to home."
In his evidence today, Mr Parkin said at that time he knew there had been a murder in Carlisle but he did not know who the victim was or how he had died.
Simon Medland, QC, prosecuting, asked: "He seemed quite normal?"
"Yes," replied Mr Parkin.
The court also heard from another of Thomson's friends, James Whittaker, who also spent time with him and Mr Parkin on the evening of June 16.
He said he noticed that Thomson had "tape" of some kind on two of his fingers and he asked him about it.
Mr Whittaker said: "He said he had done it with a Stanley knife at work that day."
When he and Mr Parkin heard Thomson comment about people coming after him, they both told him to "shut up," he said.
He said they did that because in the past Thomson had been a "bit of an exaggerator".
Mr Whittaker was also asked if he knew any of the detail at this stage about the murder of Jordan Watson. He said he knew the victim was male but not the name nor how he had died.
He said that when he and Mr Parkin first saw Thomson that day, the murder was the first thing he talked about, asking them: "Have you heard the crack?"
They both immediately realised he was talking about the murder, Mr Whittaker said.
In earlier evidence, the jury heard that on the day before Jordan died, Thomson was seen wearing a purple wrist band like the one found next to the teenager's body.
Image comparison specialist Stephen Cole said he spent two or three days analysing CCTV footage of Thomson taken at Carlisle's JT Dove builders' merchants on June 15 last year, from a McDonald's restaurant the following day and from the police custody suite after his arrest.
Jordan's body was discovered in Upperby Cemetery on the morning of June 16.
Mr Cole said he was asked to examine footage which was shot outside and inside JT Dove's between 2.13pm and 2.26pm on June 15.
Thomson was at the store with his father buying supplies for the family building firm. The images in the footage were "high quality', said Mr Cole.
He confirmed that the footage, in his opinion, shows that Thomson, who was in the store, was wearing a wristband with a "purple hue" on his right wrist.
But footage shot at the police custody suite after Thomson's arrest on June 17 showed he was not wearing a purple wristband, Mr Cole told the court.
"What was your conclusion based on your expertise and experience?" asked prosecuting QC Simon Medland.
Mr Cole replied: "That Mr Thomson was wearing a purple wristband of a similar type and manufacture to the one recovered at the scene (of Jordan Watson's murder) on June 15 at JT Dove but he is was not wearing it after he incident on the 16th."
Questioned by Thomson's QC, Mr Cole confirmed that he was not saying the wristband was the same one but that it was "similar" to the one found next to Jordan.
The jury heard yesterday that the purple wrist band found in Upperby Cemetery, near to Jordan's left foot, was heavily bloodstained, with the sample proving to be a DNA match for the teenager but with "minor components" of Thomson's DNA.
Jordan Watson photo
Jordan Watson
At Carlisle Crown Court today, the jury heard a statement from Marie Tomlinson, who gave George Thomson a two hour lesson on June 16, the day Jordan's body was found at Upperby Cemetery.
Thomson, 19, of Upperby Road, Upperby, along with Brahnn Finley, 19, of Furze Street, off London Road and Daniel Johnston, 20, of Petteril Bank Road, Harraby, all deny murder.
In her statement, the driving instructor said he was always pleasant and polite during lessons, and never swore.
Recalling that lesson on June 16, she said: "He put his phone in the console as he normally does and we then drove off. I recall that George was quiet as on other days we go into the car and he would crack on to me about stuff. I got the impression that on this day he didn't want to speak."
During the lesson, she said, Thomson's phone went off about four or five times, prompting her to say that somebody was keen to get hold of him. He said the calls were "doing his head in."
Earlier in the trial, a friend of Thomson's, Lewis Parkin, told how he arranged to meet George Thomson on the evening June 16 last year and went with him to a McDonald's restaurant in the city, where they chatted.
Mr Parkin recalled how while he was with Thomson, just before 8pm that night, his friend got a call from the police, asking him to go to the police station to speak to them.
Afterwards, said Mr Parkin, Thomson told him: "Whoever stabbed that Jordan, I hope they don't come after me.
"It's a bit close to home."
In his evidence today, Mr Parkin said at that time he knew there had been a murder in Carlisle but he did not know who the victim was or how he had died.
Simon Medland, QC, prosecuting, asked: "He seemed quite normal?"
"Yes," replied Mr Parkin.
The court also heard from another of Thomson's friends, James Whittaker, who also spent time with him and Mr Parkin on the evening of June 16.
He said he noticed that Thomson had "tape" of some kind on two of his fingers and he asked him about it.
Mr Whittaker said: "He said he had done it with a Stanley knife at work that day."
When he and Mr Parkin heard Thomson comment about people coming after him, they both told him to "shut up," he said.
He said they did that because in the past Thomson had been a "bit of an exaggerator".
Mr Whittaker was also asked if he knew any of the detail at this stage about the murder of Jordan Watson. He said he knew the victim was male but not the name nor how he had died.
He said that when he and Mr Parkin first saw Thomson that day, the murder was the first thing he talked about, asking them: "Have you heard the crack?"
They both immediately realised he was talking about the murder, Mr Whittaker said.
In earlier evidence, the jury heard that on the day before Jordan died, Thomson was seen wearing a purple wrist band like the one found next to the teenager's body.
Image comparison specialist Stephen Cole said he spent two or three days analysing CCTV footage of Thomson taken at Carlisle's JT Dove builders' merchants on June 15 last year, from a McDonald's restaurant the following day and from the police custody suite after his arrest.
Jordan's body was discovered in Upperby Cemetery on the morning of June 16.
Mr Cole said he was asked to examine footage which was shot outside and inside JT Dove's between 2.13pm and 2.26pm on June 15.
Thomson was at the store with his father buying supplies for the family building firm. The images in the footage were "high quality', said Mr Cole.
He confirmed that the footage, in his opinion, shows that Thomson, who was in the store, was wearing a wristband with a "purple hue" on his right wrist.
But footage shot at the police custody suite after Thomson's arrest on June 17 showed he was not wearing a purple wristband, Mr Cole told the court.
"What was your conclusion based on your expertise and experience?" asked prosecuting QC Simon Medland.
Mr Cole replied: "That Mr Thomson was wearing a purple wristband of a similar type and manufacture to the one recovered at the scene (of Jordan Watson's murder) on June 15 at JT Dove but he is was not wearing it after he incident on the 16th."
Questioned by Thomson's QC, Mr Cole confirmed that he was not saying the wristband was the same one but that it was "similar" to the one found next to Jordan.
The jury heard yesterday that the purple wrist band found in Upperby Cemetery, near to Jordan's left foot, was heavily bloodstained, with the sample proving to be a DNA match for the teenager but with "minor components" of Thomson's DNA.
