THE jury in the body-in-a-suitcase murder of teenager Terry Edmonds has been given a week's break from deliberations after failing to reach a verdict on Friday.

Judge Paul Worsley, QC, had asked in the late morning whether an "impasse" had been reached so that a unanimous or majority decision could not be returned.

When the nine women and three men returned after lunch to give their response, the foreman said they would like to continue with deliberations.

They opted to break off and return "refreshed" to continue to try to reach a verdict on Monday, June 4.

The reason for the long gap is that Maidstone Crown Court is closed for Bank Holiday on Monday and Tuesday and jurors have commitments for the remainder of the week.

The jury had been out for three days.

Homeless Philip Bell, 22, denies murdering 17-year-old Terry at a car park, where he lived rough, next to Tunbridge Wells railway station and hiding her body in a suitcase on April 17 last year.

She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

Terry, who lived at nearby Calverley Hill hostel, disappeared after she was captured on CCTV at the station at 6.23pm. Bell was two seconds behind her.

The prosecution say there was then a "lost hour" during which she was killed, before Bell was seen on CCTV again.

The suitcase containing the body was later found hidden under a ramp at the car park.