THE jury in the trial of a trainee teacher accused of murdering his sister-in-law has retired to consider its verdict.

Mohammed Sayid, 49, is accused of killing mum-of-three Soabi Sayid, 29, at the family home they shared in Hycliffe Gardens, Chigwell, in April last year.

The case has heard how Mr Sayid allegedly strangled Mrs Sayid after she called him “stupid” for accidentally knocking her when he opened a kitchen door.

Her husband, Anwar Sayid, was away working in Somerset at the time, while her mother-in-law, who also lived at the house, was out collecting two of her children from nursery school at the time of the killing.

Her other child, a son, was upstairs playing on a computer.

Mr Sayid's defence has argued that he was suffering from a temporary mental illness at the time, brought on by stress caused by setbacks in his attempt to become a fully-qualified teacher.

The jury was sent out just after 12 noon today.

Mr Sayid denies murder.