Tinsel, trainers, cuddly toys: Jo’s flat, eerily frozen in time since Christmas

They visited Miss Yeates’s home which was poignantly preserved with personal belongings and Christmas decorations since she was killed on 17 December.

Mr Justice Field helped the jury retrace her steps through Bristol’s upmarket Clifton district yesterday. They briefly saw the garden flat where defendant Vincent Tabak lived before spending 22 minutes next door at Miss Yeates’s home.

Inside, many belongings and mementoes had been left unmoved since her life was cut short at the age of 25.

Boyfriend Greg Reardon had returned to collect his possessions, but Miss Yeates’s clothes, belongings and furniture remained, the jury was told.

Her running shoes had been left stacked in the yellow-painted entrance hall alongside her snow boots. There were also two litter trays for the couple’s cat. The jury then walked into the living room, witnessing the scene of a couple preparing for Christmas. There was a roll of unused wrapping paper under a table, an unopened box of Christmas crackers and a lamp adorned with tinsel. .

On the shelves in the couple’s living room were puzzle games and memorabilia from the sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf, including a montage of cast members and messages to “Jo and Greg”.

There were signs of police attempts to gather DNA evidence, with red dots and dust residue showing where detectives had found fingerprints.

The jury was also shown the bedroom Miss Yeates shared with Mr Reardon.

Carpets had been removed by police, but the couple’s double bed and duvet remained, with two wardrobes full of clothes and a bedside table adorned with perfumes, make-up and cuddly toys. There was a bottle of Lacoste fragrance, as well as ornate boxes for her hairpins.

There was also an empty bottle of cider in the living room.

There was further sign of police evidence-taking in the kitchen and bathroom, where bottles of shampoo and conditioner had been left. The shower and bath had been heavily dusted for prints. The case continues.