Jury told to treat each count as a separate trial

WEARING casual clothes and a New York Yankees baseball cap, Jonathan Costen arrived in the old, dilapidated courtroom with Eleanor Joel, who was wearing a grey tracksuit top and dark pants, at 10.30am.

Both defendants walked from their seat in the public area and pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out. The jury was then sworn in. Judge Gerard Griffin told the jurors to rely only on the facts of the case and not anything divined from research on the internet.

Justin Dillon, prosecuting, reiterated the point. “Ultimately you will be asked to retire to consider your verdict. You will be coming together ultimately as a collective whole to give a verdict.”