We're now hearing from the defence barrister Mr Elvidge KC about some possible mitigating factors in Osborne's case ahead of his sentencing on Friday.

The "substantial point" is that Osborne "pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity available to him in these proceedings", Mr Elvidge says.

He adds that "credit should be given" for the early plea.

It had saved witnesses "having to worry about giving evidence and reliving events and their recollection", he argues.

"We submit that is a really compelling reason why a guilty plea is a powerful point in mitigation."

Mr Elvidge adds that a jail term reduction, in this case of five years, would be appropriate, should Osborne be given a minimum term order.

Mr Elvidge KC tells Leeds Crown Court: "This is not one of these cases...where there were a number of murders across multiple locations."

Osborne showed "some pre-meditation" in waiting for Ms Higton and Mr Harnett to return to the house where they were subsequently murdered, he says.

He tells Mrs Justice Christina Lambert: "It'll be a matter for your Ladyship where this case falls within the guidelines.

"But we invite you to be careful not to double-count and to not be distracted by the notions of the dangerousness in the context of a case where the defendant is going to receive an indeterminate life sentence."

Mr Elvidge KC is telling the court about how Marcus Osborne had acted before and during the act of murder.

"His activities inside that house suggest many things: one of them a degree of impulsivity and recklessness.

"No precautions to avoid detection, en route or while there.

"Offences committed in plain view of others - and he even reported what he'd done to others," Mr Elvidge KC says.

"We submit whether this is someone acting under a stream of consciousness, rather than a perceived premediated view.

"It appears he disregarded the presence of others."

Messages sent by Marcus Osborne about Katie Higton are now being read out in court.

The were sent after Ms Higton left him after he was violent towards her.

The court hears that he wrote to an associate: "I'm missing her like mad, not slept for two nights, she's my world."

We're hearing a bit more about Marcus Osborne now.

Osborne "felt unwanted", Mr Elvidge KC tells the court.

He is referring to the fact that Osborne's father was not involved in the family.

The court hears that Osborne was placed in a school for children with special educational needs and he was able to achieve some qualifications.

Osborne attended college briefly and did a bricklaying course which he failed to complete, before starting casual work.

Courts have been known to hand down minimum terms of between 30 and 40 years for murder, Mr Elvidge KC tells Leeds Crown Court.

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He's referring to previous cases with regards to the starting point for murder sentencing.

He is asking if this is a case where the sentence of last resort is appropriate.

There is expected to be a starting point of a 30-year sentence for Marcus Osborne, Mr Elvidge KC adds.

The hearing is about to resume, with Mr John Elvidge KC, who is defending, about to speak now.

We're just having a quick break before the defence present their submissions.

This is only a couple of minutes away from resuming.

We've heard how the Crown Prosecution Service is seeking a full life term for Marcus Osborne, after he pleaded guilty last year to two counts of murder, as well as the rape charge.

Mrs Justice Lambert says she will have to look at the "course of conduct from start to finish", from him appearing at the house with a knife to then "inviting the neighbours to look at the bodies".

Prosecution barrister Mr Sandiford has asked Mrs Justice Lambert is there is anything else he can assist her with following his submissions, which has lasted almost two hours.

Mrs Justice Lambert, the presiding judge, is currently speaking with Mr Jonathan Sandiford KC.

They are discussing the starting point and upper limits for sentencing Osborne for the rape charge, which he has also pleaded guilty to.

We won't hear what sentence Osborne will get until Friday morning, as Mrs Justice Lambert will first retire to consider her decision.

We're now hearing details of some of Marcus Osborne's previous convictions.

Image source, Yorkshire Live

Osborne (pictured) was earlier sentenced to seven years in a Young Offenders' Institution for drugs offences, as well as robbery, attempted robbery and having an imitation firearm.

The 35-year-old was also previously jailed for 16 weeks for common assault, as well as serving 51 months in prison for GBH with intent.

The latter charge was against a former partner towards whom he was violent.

In total, he has 12 previous convictions for 27 offences, Mr Sandiford tells Leeds Crown Court.

We're now hearing a statement from Janine Parkin, the mother of Steve Harnett.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

She says her world came "crashing down" when she heard rumours something had happened to her son.

"I was in a state of panic. My heart sank and I began fearing the worse.

"Imagine the horror when I arrived home when everyone was staring at you, telling you to sit down.

"My son had been brutally murdered. I felt my heart shatter into 1,000 pieces.

"The tasks of making calls to family and friends, listening to their haunting screams of grief, was torture.

"The pain is indescribable," she adds.

We're now hearing a statement from Katie Higton's father, Robert Higton, read by Mr Sandiford.

"I couldn't have asked for more when she was born," he says.

"She has been so cruelly ripped away from me. I'll forever be expecting a call or text message from Katie, but I know it'll never come.

"The way Katie was taken from me gives me nightmares.

"To hear the details of what she endured, not only during the course of her death, but the weeks before, shook me to my core," he writes.

"Her death has turned my world into a horror story."

We're hearing now from the mother of Katie Higton.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

In her victim personal statement, she says Osborne is "a monster of the worst kind".

"I no longer live, I exist in a torturous world without my baby," she adds.

"I've never known anything so vile."

We've heard the case from the prosecution barrister, Mr Jonathan Sandiford KC.

Now we're hearing from friends and family of the victims.

The attack on Katie Higton "was a ferocious, merciless and sustained attack where she was defenceless, though she put up a courageous struggle", Mr Sandiford KC says.

The "significant" blows were struck to "not just kill her, but to disfigure her face," he tells Leeds Crown Court.

A number of knife-tip injuries sustained by Mr Harnett were intended to "torment, not to kill", we hear.

An injury sustained by Mr Harnett, which happened while he was thought to have still been alive, showed "sadistic conduct" by Osborne, Mr Sandiford says.

The bodies of Ms Higton and Mr Harnett had been moved to another room, we hear from Mr Sandiford.

Mr Harnett had been stabbed or slashed 24 times, he says.

The injuries had required a degree of force, we are told.

Ms Higton's post-mortem examination took place on 17 May.

She had suffered a "serious and sustained assault" with 99 injuries to her body, including five stab wounds.

There were also stab wounds to Ms Higton's face and there was evidence she had tried to defend herself, Leeds Crown Court hears.

Marcus Osborne showed off the victims' bodies, "like he was proud of what he'd done", the court is told .

"I know I'm going down for murder, I just need to sort some stuff out," Osborne told someone in the house, according to Jonathan Sandiford KC.

There were children in the house at the time of the murders, the court is told.

Osborne raped a woman in the house following the attacks, the court is being told.

He then ran himself a bath, the prosecution barrister says.