Murder suspect Bridger denies hiding April Jones’ body

On his second day of cross examination Mark Bridger of Ceinws, mid-Wales, answered questions about the presence of saws and knives in his house and his memory of placing April’s body in front of the fireplace in his home.

Mr Bridger denies abduction, murder and intending to pervert the course of justice by disposing of, concealing or destroying April’s body.

Elwen Evans QC, prosecuting, told Mold Crown Court that after April’s disappearance police mounted the biggest search in British history.

She said police had “looked everywhere”, and asked Bridger: “Where did you put the body?”

Mr Bridger, who claims his memory had gone blank after he knocked April down in a car accident, said: “I can’t recall. I still believe I have placed her somewhere.”

Denial

Miss Evans said April’s body has not been found because Mr Bridger was trying to cover up what he had done.

Mr Bridger denied putting the body somewhere “carefully chosen”.

Miss Evans added: “You really are not going to give us any assistance as to what you did?”

Mr Bridger said he told police at the time about the places he had been and walked, including caves and rivers.

Miss Evans said police had been “up hill and down dale, down mine shafts and not found her anywhere”.

April disappeared on 1 October last year. The prosecution say Mr Bridger snatched and murdered her in a sexually motivated attack.

Bridger says he accidentally killed April when he ran her over and accepts he must have got rid of her body, but he says he cannot remember how he disposed of it because he was suffering memory loss caused by alcohol and panic.

Earlier the trial heard how Mr Bridger viewed images of child pornography on his laptop on the day April went missing and that forensic investigators discovered traces of April’s blood in Mr Bridger’s living room, hall and bathroom.

Mr Bridger told the jury he had a recollection of “holding” April and placing her on the floor in front of the fireplace in his living room at his cottage, Mount Pleasant.

Miss Evans said: “Up until this recollection your story had been that April had never been to the house,” she went on, asking when the memory had “come back” to him.

Mr Bridger told the jury it was during discussions with his legal team.

‘Decorative’ handcuffs

Miss Evans said: “It’s a memory that has come back to you because you realised it’s a fact that April’s blood was on the carpet.”

Asked about the presence of saws, hacksaws and knives in his living room, which the prosecutor described as “weaponry”, Bridger told the court they were “tools” for outdoor activities.

“I love my bushcraft,” he said, adding that two pairs of handcuffs in the living room were “just decorative”.

Earlier, Miss Evans asked Mr Bridger whether he had been “sexually frustrated” on the day April disappeared.

He said: “No, not at all.”

She asked if he had looked at indecent images of children on his laptop that day.

The defendant replied: “I can’t remember if I looked at it, I clicked on a picture.”

Miss Evans then said: “Is it right to say that Monday 1 October last year was the day that your relationship with your girlfriend had finished?”

Mr Bridger told the court it was. The case continues.