One of the defendants in the Ben Gardner trial has an IQ of a seven-year-old child, the jury was told.

Jordan Dixon, 18, who has used an intermediary throughout the trial to explain the court process, was described as “compliant and easily-led” and a “boy, not a man”.

Paul Heinz QC, defending Mr Dixon, said before the trial his client did not know what words like “jury, evidence, an oath and defence” meant.

He said: “He is a bully and a thug. but he is not a murderer. He has an IQ of 68, he has the language levels of a seven or eight-year-old, a poor working memory, poor vocabulary and a severe stammer.”

Mr Heinz said eyewitness accounts of his client shouting “I hope you die of cancer” to Allanna Devine, was simply “engaging in playground abuse”.

He added: “No one has seriously claimed Jordan Dixon caused Ben Gardner’s death. “One witness, Anthony Downey, even said he didn’t think the punch connected. Is he a murderer based on his actions that night?

“This was not a group attack. This is a tragic case and it arose out of bad luck.

“We submit the prosecution have not proven Jordan Dixon to be a murderer or guilty of manslaughter.”

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