Verdict due in Craig Preston murder trial

They must decide if Leonie Mason (23), her lover Shiraz Bashir (42) and three teenage boys are guilty of murdering Craig Preston (32), of Montgomery Square, Wath, on August 21 last year.

The five all deny murder and have been on trial at Sheffield Crown Court for the past 11 weeks.

Barristers representing the defendants have been giving their closing speeches to the jury over the past week.

The prosecution claim the couple saw Mr Preston as an annoyance and recruited the boys — who cannot be named for legal reasons — to help get rid of him.

Prosecutor, Mr Dayfdd Enoch, told the jury the five were a “curious mix” and some of the “streetwise youths” appeared to have a crush on Mason and would do whatever she asked.

The prosecution said Mr Preston, also known as Craig Nelson, was attacked by the gang in a lay-by on Town Lane, Rockingham, at around midnight and bundled into a Vauxhall Astra, “unconscious or dying” and dumped on the moors off the A628 at Woodhead Tunnels.

In their evidence, Bashir and Mason, both of Holme Park Court, Huddersfield, blamed each other for the fatal attack.

The trial continues.