The jury has retired to consider its verdict in the trial of the student accused of killing his boyfriend after discovering he had been exchanging messages with other men.

Aaron Ray, 21, from Sunderland, is accused of the murder of Jason Brockbanks, who was found dead in the shower cubicle of his en-suite student bedroom, at the Mansion Tyne accommodation block, in Newcastle, on the afternoon of September 27, last year.

Newcastle Crown Court has heard that the 24-year-old Northumbria University student, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, suffered a stab wound to the right side of his torso which would have caused blood loss leading to his death.

The prosecution case is that after a night out in Newcastle’s “Pink Triangle” on Friday September 23, into the following morning, they returned to Mr Brockbanks’ fourth-floor flat at Mansion Tyne.

Read more: Closing speeches in trial of man accused of Jason Brockbanks' murder

It is alleged that after a happy night out, the “dynamic changed” as Mr Ray suspected Mr Brockbanks had received messages from other men via the gay dating app Grindr.

Mr Ray is said to have gone through Mr Brockbanks’ messages on his phone and filmed them before, according to the prosecution, he took a knife from a communal kitchen and stabbed him though the duvet as he slept on the bed.

The prosecution said he then left the flat and walked back to the Central Station in Newcastle, from where he took a taxi to return to his parents’ home, in Mayfield Road, South Hylton, Sunderland.

It was only after Mr Brockbanks’ body was found, on a ‘welfare check’, more than three days later, that Mr Ray was arrested at his parents’ home, in the early hours of September 28.

In his account of the incident in the flat, Mr Ray said on confronting Mr Brockbanks about the messages on his phone, his boyfriend attacked him and so he grabbed the knife and lashed out with it, in self-defence.

Mr Ray said as he made to then leave the flat, Mr Brockbanks grabbed him by the waist and he fell backwards into him, while still holding the knife.

He said, not realising Mr Brockbanks was badly hurt, he replaced the knife in a drawer in the communal kitchen, grabbed his things and left.

Mr Ray claimed he later tried to contact Mr Brockbanks to see how he was, but when he did not respond he believed he no longer wanted anything to do with him.

Addressing the jury in his closing speech, the trial judge, Mr Justice Martin Spencer, said the prosecution account was that Mr Ray was someone who was, “jealous and possessive”, and could resort, on occasions, to making threats and to acts of violence.

He said the prosecution case is that he attacked Mr Brockbanks with, “enormous brutality” and that the fact the knife pierced his flesh by 12 cm indicated an intention, “to cause really serious harm”.

Read more: Man in court for Jason Brockbank's murder accused of lying

But Mr Justice Spencer said the defence case was that there were “gaps” in the available evidence, with no CCTV of what went on behind the bedroom door of Mr Brockbanks’ flat.

He said that the defence claims that when he left the room, Mr Ray, “wouldn’t necessarily have known” that Mr Brockbanks was seriously injured, as there may have been little initial blood loss.

Directing the jury to its “route to verdict” he said members of the panel must ask themselves if Mr Ray deliberately slashed Mr Brockbanks and if they thought he did, were they then sure he stabbed him, but not in self-defence.

Once more, he said if they did, they must then decide if he intended to cause Mr Brockbanks, “really serious harm”.

If they did then he said they should find him guilty of murder.

Mr Justice Spencer said if they felt he only intended to cause him, “some harm”, they should return a guilty verdict to manslaughter.

Read next:

               Aaron Ray police interview during trial for murder of Jason Brockbanks

               Accused in Newcastle student murder was making plans to go to Russia

               Sunderland man on trial for murder of Jason Brockbanks in Newcastle

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But he told the jury if they felt the answer to those questions was “no”, then they should acquit the defendant.

He told them there were three available verdicts, guilty or not guilty to murder, or not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.

The jury retired to consider its verdicts shortly before 1pm, on the seventh day of the trial today, (Tuesday March 21).