Coronavirus: 'Devil's breath' murder trial too complex to go ahead with social distancing
"Devil's breath" or scopolamine is a powder that comes from a tree grown only in Colombia.
Wednesday 13 May 2020 13:53, UK
The trial of a couple accused of murdering a man with "devil's breath" poison has been ruled too complex to go ahead with social distancing measures.
Diana Cristea, 18, and her boyfriend Joel Osei, 25, were due to stand trial at the Old Bailey next week - which is when jury cases are allowed to resume in England and Wales amid the coronavirus lockdown.
But Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb has ruled the trial would be too long and complex and would not be compatible with the strict COVID-19 guidelines due to come into effect in courtrooms on 18 May.
The couple, who are both from London, are accused of murdering dancer Adrian Murphy, 43, after he was found dead in Battersea, south west of the capital, last year.
Prosecutors allege they gave him a substance called scopolamine, known more commonly as "devil's breath".
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The drug comes from Colombian Borrachero trees and is used across Latin America.
Cristea, of Mill Hill, north London, and Osei, of no fixed address, deny any wrongdoing.
The case has been postponed for a pre-trial review on 26 June.
