Image source, Julia Quenzler

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC has addressed the jury, picking up where he left off yesterday afternoon. Manuel Petrovic's black Vauxhall Corsa was left abandoned in Elvet Road just hours after Jodie was attacked.

The car was seized by police when it became the focus of their investigation - and Mr Aylett said it was Mr Petrovic himself who called police about a "stolen car".

Mr Aylett adds: "When the operator asked if the car had been stolen or not, Petrovic replied, 'Where it was left it is not no more so I presume it has been stolen, yeah.'

"Petrovic went on, 'I know it might not possibly be stolen but I’ve been held at knife point robbery for my keys, that’s why my car was left where it was left.'

"When the operator asked Petrovic why he hadn’t mentioned this at the beginning of the call, Petrovic said, 'I wanted to deal with it myself obviously…I’ve been a bit scared and at the time I didn’t have insurance to drive the car.'

"The operator asked Petrovic to explain what happened. Petrovic said, 'I’m with one of my friends. We pulled onto an estate…I think he’s just gone to buy some weed or something…and we’ve ended up pulling up onto the estate. One fella’s come over to my window. He’s pulled a knife out on me and instantly dragged my keys out of the car'.”

The jury has returned to court and Judge Wendy Joseph QC has explained that one of the teenage defendants is not present in the dock because he is "unwell".

She has also reminded jurors not to be influenced by anything they read in the media and to try the defendants on the evidence put before them in court.

Danny Shaw
BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

It is illegal to take photographs in courtrooms or court buildings of anyone involved in the proceedings.

The law, which has been in place for almost 100 years, is still rigorously enforced.

The authorities believe that cameras could act as a distraction in court, intimidate witnesses and deter people from giving evidence.

There’s also a ban on making sketches in court, so artists have to draw from memory – making notes during hearings and completing their drawings away from the courtroom later.

Image source, Julia Quenzler

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC started to outline the case against two teenage boys and two men who are all accused of murdering Jodie Chesney.

Jodie, 17, was stabbed in a park in the Harold Hill area of Romford, east London, on 1 March, as she was socialising with friends.

Desperate efforts were made to save her and doctors attempted to perform emergency surgery at a petrol station in Gants Hill.

She was pronounced dead on the forecourt of the petrol station.

Mr Aylett told jurors about a black Vauxhall Corsa which became the main focus of the early stage of the Met Police's murder investigation.

That vehicle was bought by the first defendant Manuel Petrovic, 20, two days before Jodie's murder.

In the hours after the fatal stabbing the Corsa was "found abandoned" around two miles away on Elvet Avenue, Gidea Park.

Image source, PA Media

Welcome to the second day of the Jodie Chesney murder trial.

The prosecution is expected to continue its opening later this morning.