Lyndsey Vaux murder trial: Jury retires to consider verdict

"Bullying" Becky Reid, 32, regularly battered mother-of-one Lyndsey Vaux, 30, leaving her "looking like the elephant man", Manchester Crown Court has heard.

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Reid, along with her mother, Gillian Reid, 57, are both jointly charged with the murder of Ms Vaux and assaulting another woman, a previous partner of Becky Reid.

The jury retired to consider their verdicts today after hearing six weeks of evidence against the defendants, who deny the offences.

Ms Vaux died on May 22 last year, suffering 90 separate injuries following months of alleged abuse, mostly from Becky Reid, the court heard.

Neighbours, shopkeepers and other witnesses told the jury how Ms Vaux was often seen being dragged by her hair, punched, kicked and stamped on by Becky as she screamed abuse at her in the streets around their home in Platt Bridge, Wigan.

On one occasion, her 17-stone mother got off her mobility scooter to join in the kicking, the jury heard.

In the final months before her death Ms Vaux appeared downtrodden, malnourished, hungry and thirsty, was constantly bruised, going downhill rapidly and "looked like she was dead already," a neighbour said.

Another neighbour told the jury Ms Vaux looked like she had been in a car accident, not long before her death.

Inside the Reids' home, jurors heard on one occasion Becky kicked Ms Vaux hard in the face for putting salad on her burger, it is alleged.

Often, Ms Vaux would be sent out limping the streets in the rain begging and scrounging by Reid to get money for scratchcards, "smoke and cans" to feed her own alcohol and cannabis habits, and if she did not bring back enough money she would be beaten, the jury heard.

Becky Reid denies any violence was used against Ms Vaux at all.

Her mother also denies harming Ms Vaux or her daughter's previous partner and told the jury she herself was scared of her daughter.

From the age of five, Reid was said to be "out of control" with her mother and father "unable to cope".

Experts disagreed over whether Reid's borderline personality disorder means she was unable to control her actions and thus provide a partial defence.

Ms Vaux had lots of friends in Stockport before she began a relationship with Reid in 2009 and moved to the Wigan area and lost contact with her daughter.

Jurors heard police were called numerous times but Ms Vaux would make excuses for her injuries and refused to co-operate.

Experts concluded she died not from a single fatal injury but from the combined effects of multiple injuries over several months.

Both defendants deny murder.

Becky Reid also denies and one count of grievous bodily harm and her mother one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The jury was later sent home for the evening without returning any verdicts, to resume deliberations on Thursday morning.