Brisbane jury retires for night

A Brisbane Supreme Court jury was unable to reach a verdict today in the trial of accused Childers hostel arsonist Robert Paul Long.

The jury of seven women and five men was sent out at 00.00hrs (Irish time) following a 19-day trial that has heard from more than 50 witnesses, including backpackers, fire experts and police.

But after nine hours of deliberations they were locked away for the night to resume deliberations at 11pm tonight, Irish time. Supreme Court Justice Peter Dutney warned the jury at the close of his summing up to ignore the massive media hype surrounding the case.

Long, 38, has pleaded not guilty to setting fire to the century-old Palace Backpackers Hostel on June 23, 2000 and murdering Western Australian identical twins Kelly and Stacey Slarke.

Justice Dutney told the jury it had to ignore the pressure of the media spotlight to deliver a fair verdict.

"I don't doubt you all feel the pressure of the media spotlight on this case and doing your duty will require courage," Justice Dutney told the jury. He reminded the jurors to only consider the evidence at the trial, which did not include anything they read in newspapers or saw on television about the case.

"When you were sworn in, you took an oath to deliver a verdict on the evidence," Justice Dutney said.

Crown Prosecutor David Meredith told the jury there was an overwhelmingly strong circumstantial case linking Long to the fire.

However, defence barrister Terry Martin has told the jury the prospect of the fire being an accident could not be ruled out.

Justice Dutney told the jury in his summation that it had to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Long lit the fire and intended to kill at least one person inside.

However, he said if they were only satisfied that he lit the fire without the intent they could still find Long guilty of manslaughter and not murder.