The Trial: A Murder in the Family day 3 – Is defendant Simon Davis guilty?

Although the fictional father is played by an actor (Michael Gould), he faced a meticulous line of questioning from two very real barristers. Did he do enough to convince the jury his ex-wife’s death was not his doing?

The jury’s verdict will be delivered on Thursday (9pm, C4) before we find out what 'actually' happened. But based on the evidence so far (see the summary below), do YOU think Simon Davis is guilty beyond reasonable doubt?

<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/9753399/">The Trial Day 3 – Is defendant Simon Davis guilty?</a>If you’re not sure then here’s a reminder of tonight’s evidence (and you can see what happened last night here).

Skinner seen on the scene

Tonight Lewis Skinner, the man that had been in a relationship with Carla Davis at the time of her death, gave his full account of the day of the murder.

At 9am, an hour before the murder, Skinner said (and CCTV shows) he bought a coffee in a park café before intending to get a bus to a garage. He needed to pick up his car that had undergone a MOT.

Skinner then said he sat on a nearby bench until 9.45am before going to get the bus, which never turned up. He then claims he walked to the garage, a journey which took an hour (this wasn't caught on CCTV).

After being initially questioned by police he changed his story to explain exactly which route he took. The defence also revealed that Skinner had put his phone on flight mode during this time, which would turn off the device’s GPS. Skinner said this was done to preserve battery life.

https://twitter.com/thetrial/status/867117193594589184

However, Danny Mullen, a man who knew Skinner from his amateur football club, said he’d spotted Skinner around the corner from Carla’s house. This sighting allegedly took place at 10.03am – Mullen said he remembered reading the time on his phone. In the defence's timeline, that would be shortly before Carla’s murder.

Mullen also said that Skinner was walking quickly “looking like he needed to go somewhere. He was in a rush”.

https://twitter.com/thetrial/status/867110770919841797

Skinner's dark past

Looks like defendant Simon Davis isn’t the only one with a violent past. During tonight’s trial it was revealed that Skinner had been dismissed from his job as a policeman for misuse of force. He broke a suspect’s rib and was subsequently successfully prosecuted for assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).

https://twitter.com/Channel4/status/867115227363639296

Simon Davis takes the stand

The defendant finally had his say. Firstly, he pleaded to the jury that he loved his wife and did not kill her, and planned to reform his family life with her.

However, while questioned by the prosecution, Davis could not account why he waited eight minutes after finding Carla’s body to call the emergency services – he claims to

Is he convincing the jury of his innocence? Or sealing his own fate? #TheTrial pic.twitter.com/0NNswjsH3y

— The Trial (@thetrial) May 23, 2017

The Trial: A Murder in the Family is on C4 Sunday to Thursday, 9pm