Lynda Spence trial: Jury still out

Jurors in the trial of two men accused of murdering missing businesswoman Lynda Spence have yet to reach a verdict after three days of deliberation.

Colin Coats and Philip Wade, both 42, deny abducting, torturing and killing the missing financial adviser who was last seen in Glasgow in April 2011.

The trial is in its 11th week at the High Court in Glasgow.

Judge Lord Pentland has repeatedly advised the jurors that they should take as long as necessary to reach a decision, and should not feel “under the slightest time pressure”.

Prosecutors claim the two men cut off Ms Spence’s thumb, burned her hand with an iron and hit her with a golf club. The body of the 27-year-old has never been found.

The court heard evidence that Ms Spence had a hand in deals involving faked Danish bearer bonds and a land sale at Stansted Airport.

Coats, who provided short-term loans to Ms Spence, held her responsible for losing his money and duping him over deals, according to prosecutors.

When it became clear she was continuing to mislead them, Coats and Wade murdered her and disposed of her body, prosecutors claim.