Pregnant teenager Nikitta Grender was found dead at her Lliswerry home after a fire in February last year.
Carl Whant, 27, of no fixed address, stands accused of the rape and murder of Miss Grender on February 5 last year. He is also accused of arson and child destruction. He denies all the charges.
Some older tweets may briefly appear at the top of the timeline. This is a technical problem which usually is resolved by refreshing the page
Jury has been sent home until 2pm tomorrow #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 15:48:39 2012
Court adjourned for a break #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 14:55:00 2012
Bennett: no entries in the Greyhound Pub incident book for Feb 4 or 5 #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 14:48:38 2012
Bennett: nothing was found on Whant's shoes or trousers to link him to scene #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 14:47:55 2012
Bennett: #nikitta's dog was found dead in her bedroom. It died from effects of smoke inhalation & heat
Mon Feb 13 14:47:10 2012
Bennett: #nikitta's blood sample was analysed for drugs, alcohol & medicines. Only caffeine was found
Mon Feb 13 14:46:22 2012
Bennett: Whant had a silver Ford Focus at the time of #nikitta's death
Mon Feb 13 14:45:26 2012
Bennett: but for the unlawful killing of #nikitta, her unborn child was capable of being born alive
Mon Feb 13 14:44:15 2012
Prosecution junior Ieuan Bennett now reading facts agreed between prosecutiob & defence to jury #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 14:42:30 2012
Other items seized by the search team at #nikitta's flat included underwear & pink pj bottoms
Mon Feb 13 14:36:38 2012
Court hears statement from PC Martin Corley, part of Gwent Police support group, who recovered a lighter from #nikitta's flat
Mon Feb 13 14:33:16 2012
Mr Stebbings carried out gas checks at #nikitta's flat on Oct 18, 2010
Mon Feb 13 14:29:32 2012
Court hears statement of Christopher Stebbings - Newport City Homes gas engineer
Mon Feb 13 14:28:32 2012
Walked past the back of #nikitta's flat on his way home from work in the early hrs of Feb 5, around 4.45am. Did not see anything suspicious
Mon Feb 13 14:27:34 2012
Mr Morgan had not seen #nikitta for 2/3 weeks before her death.
Mon Feb 13 14:25:20 2012
Morgan: #nikitta & Ryan Mayes had been on and off since she was 14. Ryan was initially jealous of his friendship with #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 14:24:43 2012
Statement of Luke Morgan, #nikitta's friend of 11 years, being read
Mon Feb 13 14:23:28 2012
Mr Rogers was also called to #nikitta's flat the following morning after the fire & realised it was close to the previous call out
Mon Feb 13 14:22:07 2012
Finished no later than 1.45am. Mr Rogers said he did not see anyone other than the occupant of the flat with the smashed window #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 14:20:53 2012
Mr Rogers was called to fix a window at a flat in Broadmead Park, close to #nikitta's flat, which had been smashed
Mon Feb 13 14:19:36 2012
Statement from Adam Rogers, Newport City Homes carpenter. Was on call on Feb 4, had a call at around 12.20 to go to Broadmead Park #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 14:18:33 2012
Statement of Jennifer Voisey, sister of Sarah Voisey #nikitta's neighbour being read. Heard noises of movement from flat above
Mon Feb 13 14:16:25 2012
#nikitta was at her parents' house on the evening of Feb 4. Said she was going out with her friend, Jenna Allman, to 'chill.'
Mon Feb 13 14:14:53 2012
#nikitta did not like the fact that of Whant said 'jump' Ryan Mayes would, court hears
Mon Feb 13 14:13:29 2012
#nikitta had no injuries that she could see. #nikitta did not like Whant, he didn't seem to care about his partner or children
Mon Feb 13 14:12:52 2012
Average day for #nikitta would be getting up at 1pm & doing her chores. Was more comfortable in her pjs during pregnancy
Mon Feb 13 14:11:26 2012
Prosecutor Gregg Taylor is reading a statement from Marcia Grender, #nikitta's mother
Mon Feb 13 14:09:34 2012
Jury coming back into court #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 14:08:17 2012
DS Jones has finished his evidence. Court rising until 2pm #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 13:01:46 2012
Jones: 24 out of 44 premises were located between Feb 8 & 13 #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 13:01:16 2012
Kinch: very very limited work was going into this on Feb 6 & 7 #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 13:00:02 2012
Jones: at the time I trusted the officers carrying out enquiries in that zone, but obviously opportunities were missed #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:54:11 2012
Kinch: there wasn't a great deal of urgency about this side of the enquiry. Jones: there was just as much urgency to obtain CCTV #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:51:37 2012
Kinch: quite a lot of visits were carried out on Feb 18 #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:47:02 2012
Kinch: it's a good 11days after the creation of zone 6 & the footage was overwritten #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:45:21 2012
Mr Kinch is asking DS Jones why some of the premises we're not visited until Feb 18 #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:42:49 2012
Kinch: there were a number of premises where CCTV had been overwritten #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:40:41 2012
Kinch: of the 11 premises where CCTV was obtained in zone 6 the majority were close to Corelli St #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:40:04 2012
Jones: officers reviewed the CCTV at a later time to look for vehicles heading towards Whant's nan's home #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:31:16 2012
Jones: at one time officers watching CCTV of the Old Green Roundabout were told to focus on vehicles turning towards the SDR #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:30:04 2012
Jones: once CCTV was seized it was then viewed & information noted in a viewing logged - times, dates & what was seen #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:17:48 2012
Jones: a camera on the top of Chartist Tower was identified as being important #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:16:08 2012
Kinch: information you had to create zone 6, as you understand, came from Whant? Jones: yes #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:13:22 2012
Jones: it was a 'fruitless' exercise obtaining CCTV for some premises for the whole period. Pubs etc would be shut for a time #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:09:59 2012
Second priority was to track the movements of Miss Grender during the same time period #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:08:16 2012
Kinch: you were given a steer to obtain footage from the local authority & from private premises & bars #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:07:37 2012
Time period given for obtaining CCTV was between 7pm & 9am #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:06:03 2012
Jones: CCTV strategy was compiled by a senior officer on Feb 6 sometime after morning briefing #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:05:00 2012
Jones: part of the CCTV strategy wad to look at the route between Corelli St & Broadmead Park, but also the city centre #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:04:01 2012
Defence barrister Christopher Kinch QC is starting his cross examination #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:02:48 2012
Jones: same level of priority for obtaining CCTV on each of the 6 zones #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 12:02:08 2012
Jones: 44 premises close to the route Whant claimed to have taken to his nan's house were visited by officers looking for CCTV #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:59:33 2012
Jones: had certain officers out 'scoping' the areas. 6 at first & 1 collating information as it came in #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:56:50 2012
Jones: initially looking at routes he was told Whant had taken, then added zones as further info was received #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:54:29 2012
Jones: the 6 zones covered areas from Corelli St, into the city centre, Chepstow Rd, routes into Lliswerry & Broadmead Park #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:48:25 2012
Jones: got a map of the area, split it into 6 zones & sent groups of officers out to source CCTV from each zone that covered roads #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:44:36 2012
Initial priority was to track the movements of Ryan Mayes & Carl Whant & friends. Seized CCTV from Newport Council, pubs etc #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:42:44 2012
DS Jones was responsible for organising the CCTV research & seizure for the investigation #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:39:34 2012
Prosecutor Gregg Taylor QC has called on the next witness DS Gary Jones #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:38:25 2012
Jury has just come in. Judge apologising for delay #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:36:19 2012
Delay in the start of today's #nikitta trial. Hopefully starting soon
Mon Feb 13 11:30:25 2012
Waiting for the judge & jury to come in so today's evidence can start #nikitta
Mon Feb 13 11:14:09 2012
#nikitta trial expected to resume at 11am. Defence is expected to start today at some point
Mon Feb 13 10:51:55 2012
Back in court with @ArgusBFrampton today for the #nikitta trial. Follow me from 10.30am for live tweets
Mon Feb 13 09:03:21 2012
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article