AFTER hearing six weeks of evidence in the trial of Angela Cannings, who is accused of murdering two of her babies, the jury is taking an Easter break before returning to give its verdict on the Salisbury mother.

Judge Heather Hallett, who is presiding at Winchester Crown Court, adjourned the case until April 8, when it will resume with closing speeches from both prosecution and defence counsels.

The case has centred on medical evidence, with the jury of eight women and four men hearing from some of the country's most eminent paediatricians in the search for clues as to how Jason and Matthew Cannings met their deaths.

Angela Cannings denies two charges of murdering her sons by smothering them. Her first baby, Gemma, also died suddenly in early infancy but Gemma's death is not the subject of any charge.

Cannings said that she found her babies lifeless in their cots. The prosecution said she caused their deaths by deliberately obstructing their breathing.

Each side has backed its own version of events by calling expert witnesses who have given starkly contrasting interpretations of the medical findings in the case.

In just over a week, the jury will be faced with the task of untangling a complex mass of different theories as to how the Cannings family came to lose three babies over the course of ten years.

Among the elements cited as being potentially significant have been the disputed presence of genetic disorders or heart defects in the Cannings children, known cot-death risk factors, such as smoking, and the child lying on its stomach, and the chance that toxins might have been present in the children's environment.

But equally eminent experts for the prosecution and defence have contradicted each other concerning the significance of the scientific findings in the case.

The defence has painted a picture of three cot deaths in one family, all brought about by a combination of factors.

All the Cannings babies died while they were in the sole care of their mother. The prosecution asserts that only murder provides an adequate explanation for their deaths.

The verdict is eagerly awaited by cot death and women's campaigners.

The case continues.