Jurors have retired to consider their verdicts in the trial of three teenagers accused of murdering a 'vulnerable' man in his own home.
Leigh Smith, 48, affectionately known as Leroy, was found dead at his home in Eccles. Jacob Cookson, 18, and two 17-year-old boys, who can't be named for legal reasons, all deny murder. READ MORE:Moment dad is gunned down in broad daylight as little girls play Jurors have heard that Mr Smith, who struggled with drug addiction, was a victim of 'cuckooing', when drug dealers take over someone's home to store or pack drugs for onward sale.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Smith was killed in retaliation, after Mr Cookson was hospitalised following an attack on him by another man in Mr Smith's home.
Mr Cookson believed he had been 'set up', jurors at the Minshull Street Crown Court trial heard. Manchester's courts are some of the busiest in the country with a vast array of cases heard every week.
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