A barrister has told a jury there is "no reliable evidence" to prove his client was in Thornhill on the night Mark Noke was killed. 

Delivering his closing speech, Nick Haggan KC said Justin Roach was "not involved in any way" with the death of the 64-year-old in Warburton Road. 

Roach is one of five men on trial accused of murdering Mr Noke during a failed robbery which saw a gang of five masked men go to the wrong flat in search of cash and drugs. 

But Mr Haggan said it couldn't have been Roach who had the knife as "he wasn't present when it happened".

Daily Echo: Mark Noke. Mark Noke. (Image: Hampshire Constabulary)

He told the jury: "We submit that the prosecution has not placed before you any reliable evidence direct or indirect that it is capable of putting Justin Roach at or near 147 Warburton Road at the material time.

"There is no independent eyewitness that would identify Justin Roach as being present.

"Nor for example is there any CCTV recording on which you could properly rely to identify Justin Roach as someone who even went to Warburton Road during the early hours of the 25th of February.

"He wasn’t involved in these events in any way."

The 40-year-old previously told the jury he had been at his home in Steep Close taking drugs at the time of the incident.

Roach; Keiran Claffey, 29, of Keynsham Road; Aaron Morgan, 32, of Bursledon Road; Bradley O'Dell, 22, of West Park Road and Leighton Tabone, 24, of no fixed address, deny murder and manslaughter.

Morgan, O’Dell, Roach and Tabone also deny conspiracy to rob but Claffey has already pleaded guilty to this charge.

Mr Haggan added that Roach was in a silver Volkswagen Golf with his co-defendants on the evening leading up to Mark Noke's death, but that he returned to Steep Close after dropping off baby formula to Morgan's girlfriend. 

READ MORE

"There is no CCTV, cell site or other telecommunications evidence capable of establishing that Justin Roach left Steep Close again," he added.

"Sadly these courts are all too accustomed to hearing cases involving human tragedy.

"As a result of the events that occurred during the early hours of Saturday 25 of February last year, Mark Noke, a completely innocent man, lost his life in the most dreadful of circumstances.

"Nothing that we say in our closing address is intended in any way to diminish that fact."

Roach later went on to sell the VW after Morgan was arrested and held in custody, but he said he did this because he was a drug addict and needed the money. 

The jury heard how when he sold the car and was discussing the incident in Thornhill, he "swore on his mum’s ashes he had nothing to do with it".

The trial continues.