A JURY has been told to “put aside feelings of sympathy” when deciding whether a man is guilty of murdering his twin brother.

Addressing the jury in the trial of Robert Cerqua, who is accused of stabbing his brother Christopher, the Rt Hon Justice Teare said: “The murder of one twin brother by another is a tragic event and you will obviously feel sympathy with the family.

“But in deciding if Robert Cerqua is guilty of murder or not you must put aside your feelings of sympathy and decide the matter dispassionately on the evidence you have heard.”

The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict today.

Yesterday they heard the end of the defence case, which included testimony from a former girlfriend of Christopher. Lisa Harfield told Winchester Crown Court how Christopher had been treated for depression and excessive alcohol consumption as he battled issues with low self-esteem.

Ms Harfield told jurors how the couple split in the summer of 2013 after Christopher hit her – breaking her nose.

He moved out of the home where they were living and back into his parents’ house, the court heard.

She told the court how he resorted to smoking cannabis in an attempt to calm his moods after drinking alcohol.

Jurors heard how Christopher was drinking up to eight to 12 cans of lager and would turn “quite nasty” when drunk.

In evidence read out in court by prosecutor Nicholas Haggan, Ms Harfield told detectives in an interview the day after the incident how Robert and Christopher were the same after a few drinks, describing them as “sometimes really funny, sometimes argumentative”.

She told the court how Christopher’s personality changed in the six months leading up to his death and said there was an incident where she caught him self-harming in the kitchen.

Ms Harfield told jurors: “He was a lot more distressed. For some reason he never liked the person he was. He was more reliant on drink and drugs during the day time.”

She explained how he was prescribed the anti-depressant Fluoxetine and medication to stop him drinking to excess but lapsed after attempts to contact alcohol helplines failed.

At the end of her evidence Mr Upward asked her: “In the summer of 2013 why did you and Chris split up?”

Ms Harfield tearfully replied: “He hit me.”

She told jurors the blow had caused a broken nose. She went to Southampton General Hospital for treatment but didn’t make a complaint to the police.

Both Nicholas Haggan, prosecuting, and defence lawyer Patrick Upward finished their cases yesterday.

In his closing speech, Mr Haggan told jurors that Robert’s account of what happened in the incident was to “point the finger at Christopher and away from himself”.

Previously in the trial Robert told the court how an argument erupted in the kitchen and Christopher picked up a knife. Giving evidence he said there was a scuffle and the knife ended up in his hand, the court heard.

Robert, 31, of Langdown Road, Hythe, denies murder.

Proceeding.