A MURDER trial has been shown the last movements of a Southampton teenager, as well as those of the man accused of killing her.

It comes as the trial of carer Stephen Nicholson, 25, of no fixed address, resumed after a two-day break.

Nicholson returned to Winchester Crown Court yesterday morning after Judge Mrs Justice May told the jury on Monday he was “receiving medical treatment”.

He is accused of repeatedly stabbing 13-year-old Lucy McHugh in the neck and upper body at Southampton Sports Centre and leaving her to die in woodland last July.

Daily Echo:

Yesterday, the jury was shown footage of Lucy walking from her home in Mansel Road East towards the sports centre at 8.59am. The last sighting of her was caught at the Lordswood Tesco Express store at 9.30am.

The court also saw footage of a cyclist, claimed to be Nicholson, riding to and from the sports centre on July 25, with a carrier bag on the handlebars during the return journey.

At one point, the bag appeared to be “less full” than before and was being carried, said police investigator Stephen Dicker.

Other images included CCTV footage from motion-activated cameras at the sports centre. The footage showed the running track in the foreground and the woodland in the background and someone could be seen cycling away from the woodland.

However, defence barrister James Newton-Price QC commented that some of the footage was “blurry”.

During the hearing, statements from the man who found Lucy’s body and crime scene investigators were read in court.

Dog-walker Richard Morrell said he was “off-piste” in the wooded area of the sports centre sometime after 7am on July 26 when he found the body “led face down, almost in the recovery position”.

He added that he that he “feared it was the worst-case scenario” and “sort of panicked” before calling 999.

Crime scene investigator Luke Gregory said in his statement he found “a large amount of blood present around the throat” and “multiple wounds around the neck”.

The trial is due to resume this morning. Nicholson is charged with Lucy’s murder as well as three counts of rape against her when she was 12 years old.

Daily Echo:

He also faces two charges of sexual activity with a child against Lucy on multiple occasions when she was 13, and sexual activity with a child in relation to another girl aged 14, dated June 29, 2012.

Nicholson denies all the charges.