FOLLOW our live blog of the Nikitta Grender trial with our reporters sending updates from court.

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.

NIKITTA TRIAL UPDATES

#nikitta murder trial finished for today. Will continue tomorrow at 10.30am Mon Jan 23 16:15:39 +0000 2012
The time it took smoke to reach the alarm would depend on how much, and at what speed, smoke escaped the room, jury told #nikitta Mon Jan 23 16:15:35 +0000 2012
Flanagan: it's impossible to give a precise time for when the fire started #nikitta Mon Jan 23 16:11:21 +0000 2012
Flanagan: would estimate it was started some time between 4.30am and 5.30am #nikitta Mon Jan 23 16:02:48 +0000 2012
Flanagan: if the smoke alarm sounded at 5.30am it is fair to say the fire was started before then #nikitta Mon Jan 23 16:01:59 +0000 2012
Flanagan: it's unlikely fire was started with a match as it would be difficult for the fire to take before it burnt out #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:53:30 +0000 2012
Flanagan: in the absence something like a candle being found, it is concluded the fire was started deliberately by a person #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:52:23 +0000 2012
Flanagan: the air coming in from the gap in the door would 'feed' and sustain a slow burning fire #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:49:08 +0000 2012
Flanagan: the remains of a textile on top of the door indicates something was hung over it, stopping it from closing completely #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:45:19 +0000 2012
Flanagan: at some point during the fire the door was open because of fire damage visible on the outside of the door #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:42:38 +0000 2012
Flanagan: believe the door was closed for most of the fire because of visible heat damage #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:37:31 +0000 2012
Flanagan: at least two areas of the bed were set on fire, including the foot of the bed #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:35:56 +0000 2012
Flanagan: one place was the right side of the headboard #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:33:30 +0000 2012
Flanagan: in my opinion the fire started in more than one place #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:29:32 +0000 2012
Flanagan: the inside of furniture in the bedroom remained untouched indicating it was a slow burning fire #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:28:24 +0000 2012
Flanagan: there were a lot of textiles around #nikitta's face and head Mon Jan 23 15:17:44 +0000 2012
Flanagan: the remains of textiles were found on the burnt bed #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:15:20 +0000 2012
Flanagan: bedroom windows cracked because of the heat from the fire #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:10:37 +0000 2012
Flanagan: there were no obvious signs that an accelerant was used #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:06:03 +0000 2012
Flanagan: investigation took all day, searched every square inch of the room #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:03:59 +0000 2012
Flanagan: knowing how #nikitta died we were looking for a knife and a lighter, or anything else that could have started a fire Mon Jan 23 15:03:02 +0000 2012
Flanagan: quite satisfied fire was not started by an electrical fault with the television in the bedroom #nikitta Mon Jan 23 15:00:16 +0000 2012
Flanagan: fire originated in #nikitta's bedroom. Fire investigation team began excavating the room Mon Jan 23 14:58:57 +0000 2012
#nikitta's body was remove by a pathologist and taken to the University of Wales Hospital, Cardiff, court told Mon Jan 23 14:57:34 +0000 2012
Flanagan: initial opinion was that the fire had started on the bed and radiated out #nikitta Mon Jan 23 14:55:55 +0000 2012
Flanagan: #nikitta's body was on the bed, he instructed fire team that nothing should be touched Mon Jan 23 14:55:11 +0000 2012
Flanagan: something there was 'bothering me' but couldn't tell what it was #nikitta Mon Jan 23 14:54:25 +0000 2012
Flanagan: attended #nikitta's flat at 9.07am on Feb 5. Put firefighting kit on and was taken to #nikitta's body Mon Jan 23 14:53:45 +0000 2012
He is the head of South Wales Fire And Rescue Service's fire investigation team #nikitta Mon Jan 23 14:50:03 +0000 2012
Next pros witness is fire investigator Michael Flanagan #nikitta Mon Jan 23 14:46:45 +0000 2012
Fish says this is mostly likely down to clocks at the scene and in the control room being out of sync #nikitta Mon Jan 23 14:32:12 +0000 2012
Defence barrister Christopher Kinch QC questions Fish on time discrepancies recorded by officers in site and in the control room #nikitta Mon Jan 23 14:31:06 +0000 2012
Fish: informed police officers and a paramedic at the scene there had been a fatality #nikitta Mon Jan 23 14:27:08 +0000 2012
Fire station watch manager Andrew Fish continues to give evidence #nikitta Mon Jan 23 14:21:22 +0000 2012
#nikitta murder trial resumes Mon Jan 23 14:13:37 +0000 2012
#nikitta murder trial adjourned for lunch, to resume at 2.05pm Mon Jan 23 13:03:40 +0000 2012
Fish: requested fire investigation team after #nikitta's body was discovered by team using breathing apparatus Mon Jan 23 12:46:31 +0000 2012
Fish: #nikitta's body was found at 8.08am Mon Jan 23 12:44:12 +0000 2012
Fish: smoke billowed down the stairs and out of the flat door which suggested a 'significant' and 'developing' fire #nikitta Mon Jan 23 12:39:27 +0000 2012
Fish: called for a third fire crew when flames became visible through the window of the main bedroom #nikitta Mon Jan 23 12:36:49 +0000 2012
Fish: believed there was people in the flat, ambulance was automatically called for #nikitta Mon Jan 23 12:30:15 +0000 2012
Fish: On arrival at #nikitta's flat could see smoke coming from the top of the windows Mon Jan 23 12:28:14 +0000 2012
Next pros witness is Maindee fire station watch manager Andrew Fish #nikitta Mon Jan 23 12:19:08 +0000 2012
Jones: second team from Maindee fire station who searched the main bedroom indicated they had found a body #nikitta Mon Jan 23 12:13:21 +0000 2012
Jones: heard a bang and saw flames coming from behind us. Maindee firefighters tackled the fire #nikitta Mon Jan 23 12:11:56 +0000 2012
Jones: went in to #nikitta's flat searching for possible casualties Mon Jan 23 12:06:46 +0000 2012
He is stationed at Malpas fire station and attended the fire at #nikitta's flat on Feb 5 Mon Jan 23 12:05:37 +0000 2012
Next pros witness is firefighter Ben Lewis Jones #nikitta Mon Jan 23 12:02:47 +0000 2012
Voisey: it looked like the firemen who attended tried the door handle to #nikitta's flat but can't be sure if they did or didn't Mon Jan 23 12:02:05 +0000 2012
Voisey: #nikitta had a dog. Often heard it barking and running around upstairs but heard nothing from it that night Mon Jan 23 11:58:45 +0000 2012
Voisey: when she went outside before she rang 999, she could smell smoke mixed with the smell of cannabis #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:51:41 +0000 2012
Voisey: 'beeping' of alarm which woke her sounded faint and she couldn't work out what it was #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:49:27 +0000 2012
Voisey: didn't get to sleep until around 4am the following morning as baby kept her up. Heard no noises coming from upstairs #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:46:19 +0000 2012
Voisey: her sister who dropped her off heard thumping sounds coming from upstairs - sounded like footsteps #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:43:27 +0000 2012
Voisey: the night before the fire she went to her mum's house and returned to her flat around 9.30pm #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:41:49 +0000 2012
Voisey: fire crews arrived and broke the door to #nikitta's flat down Mon Jan 23 11:37:32 +0000 2012
Voisey: banged on #nikitta's door for around 10 minutes until her knuckles were red. There was no answer Mon Jan 23 11:36:38 +0000 2012
Voisey: 999 call handler told her to get out of the flat and alert neighbours. When outside she noticed smoke coming from upstairs #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:35:24 +0000 2012
Voisey: Returned to her own flat, which now felt hot. She rang fire brigade at 7.50am and her own smoke alarm started #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:32:56 +0000 2012
Voisey: walked outside around the back of the building to see if she could see a fire, but did not look up to #nikitta's flat above Mon Jan 23 11:30:55 +0000 2012
Voisey: when she changed her daughter's nappy and put it outside the flat she smelled smoke #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:29:37 +0000 2012
Voisey: assumed the noise was coming from flat upstairs and they would deal with it #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:28:26 +0000 2012
Voisey: went back to bed until daughter woke up again at 6.30am. The alarm was still going off #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:27:38 +0000 2012
Voisey: that was around 5.30am when she had just got her 5 month old daughter to sleep #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:26:33 +0000 2012
Voisey: was woken by the beeping of an alarm, couldn't find anything in her flat so ignored it #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:25:49 +0000 2012
Voisey: was in bed when the smoke alarm in #nikitta's flat went off Mon Jan 23 11:21:12 +0000 2012
Miss Voisey lives in the flat below #nikitta's Mon Jan 23 11:19:17 +0000 2012
Next pros witness is #nikitta's neighbour Sarah Voisey who will give evidence via video link # Mon Jan 23 11:03:09 +0000 2012
Sinnot: the alarm is quite sensitive and wouldn't need much smoke to trigger it, but how fast depends on how quick it travels #nikitta Mon Jan 23 11:02:06 +0000 2012
Sinnot: the alarm will sound between 4 and 14 seconds after smoke first enters it #nikitta Mon Jan 23 10:52:02 +0000 2012
Sinnot: it is triggered when a certain level of smoke is detected inside the alarm #nikitta Mon Jan 23 10:50:16 +0000 2012
Sinnot: the fire alarm in #nikitta's flat was made by his company Mon Jan 23 10:48:16 +0000 2012
His company manufactures smoke alarms which are used by local authorities #nikitta Mon Jan 23 10:44:27 +0000 2012
First pros witness today is John Sinnot #nikitta Mon Jan 23 10:42:10 +0000 2012
Mr Justice Griffiths Williams tells jury they will visit #nikitta's Broadmead Park flat on Wednesday Mon Jan 23 10:41:18 +0000 2012
Carl Whant, 27, who denies rape, murder, child destruction and arson has taken his place in the dock #nikitta Mon Jan 23 10:39:36 +0000 2012
Waiting for #nikitta murder trial to resume. Expecting evidence from more firefighters and the neighbour who raised the alarm today Mon Jan 23 10:34:03 +0000 2012
RT @ArgusBFrampton: At the #nikitta trial today with @ArgusNCrockett - follow her for live coverage from 10.30am Mon Jan 23 09:02:18 +0000 2012