Louise Smith murder trial: CCTV shown of defendant Shane Mays and teenager on shopping trip day before her death

It comes as CCTV footage played to jurors shows a shopping trip Louise Smith took with her killer Mays, 30, the day before her death.

Winchester Crown Court was played the footage by DC Julie Way showing the 30-year-old with Louise, 16, in Greywell shopping precinct on May 7.

Today Samantha Burt, who knew Louise from the age of 12-13, said both Louise and her boyfriend Bradley Kercher were going to come and stay at her home.

Jurors were told Louise was living with her aunt Chazlynn Mays and her husband, the defendant, in Ringwood House in Somborne Drive, Leigh Park.

Ms Burt said Louise was a ‘typical teenager’ who loved animals and children, and was ‘always happy’.

But she added said: ‘She hated being there.’

She added the teenager, crying hysterically on the phone, told her ‘I can’t do nothing they’re treating me like a child’.

Louise's friend, Chloe Edwards-Guest, 19, said she was initially happy to move into Mays' one-bedroom flat.

She said: ‘Lou had never been happier in her life, but then it started going downhill after two weeks.

‘Lou and CJ were arguing quite a bit, CJ wanted Brad (Kercher, her boyfriend) gone.’

Louise sent a photo of herself in tears to Miss Edwards-Guest shortly before her death.

Miss Edwards-Guest added: ‘They were being really strict on Lou and she was not allowed her phone at all and she was not allowed out unless it was with Shane, that's my understanding.’

Miss Edwards-Guest said her ‘lovely’ friend had to lie just to get out of the house and was ‘unusually quiet’ when they met, but was ‘rebellious’ by smoking cannabis because she ‘didn't care’ what Mays thought.

Miss Edwards-Guest also told the court Louise's aunt, Sammy Jackson, kicked Louise and her boyfriend Bradley out over an argument about a lighter.

Eventually Louise returned home to CJ’s flat instead of staying with Ms Burt, jurors heard.

She got drunk overnight into the morning of May 8 and texted a mental health helpline.

One message showed she even suggested she wanted to ‘end everything’.

She said: ‘I suffer from anxiety and depression, it sucks but I make it through every day somehow but I can’t cope as much.’

The helpline told her she was ‘amazing’ and offered support.

READ NEXT: Boyfriend tells of final goodbye to teenager before she was killed by Shane Mays

She added: ‘I can’t wait for this lockdown to be over so I can get some help with my mental health.’

Prosecutor Andrew Houston also this morning read statements from friends of the teenager who grew concerned when she stopped responding to social media messages on May 8.

Jurors have already been told Mays admits killing her at Havant Thicket on May 8, with her body being found ‘defiled’ and burned 13 days later on May 21.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and admits ‘losing control of his temper’ and that he ‘repeatedly punched’ her after walking with her to Havant Thicket. He denies defiling and burning her body.

Interviewed while Louise was still missing, one friend said: ‘I’m really worried about Louise.

‘She’s disappeared before but only for a day and always told someone. This isn’t like her.’

She added Louise had a ‘tendency to cry wolf’ and was confident but ‘faked her confidence’.

Yesterday CCTV footage was played showing Louise and Mays going to Tesco and the Premier Store in Greywell precinct.

For the latest on the trial day by day see our live blog, follow our reporter Ben Fishwick on Twitter, and join our Portsmouth News - Breaking News and Incidents group on Facebook.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as our new Puzzles section.