yesterday as a twisted teenager.

Prosecutors said 16-year-old Jennifer Tombs murdered her babysitter because she refused to let her go out.

But defence attorneys told a Denver jury the mystery slaying of Latanya Lavallais would not be solved by jailing Tombs. The Denver District Court Jury deliberated about 90 minutes after hearing closing arguments in the first-degree murder case.

Tombs is accused of shooting Ms Lavallais six times in the head. The jury will continue deliberations today.

Ms Lavallais is the daughter of Valeria Vermont (nee Cox). Her grandfather, Maurice Williams, lives in North Shore Road, Pembroke.

The court heard Ms Lavallais was a close family friend of Tombs who regarded her as a cousin.

She was staying with Tombs on September 27, 1996, while the teenager's mother, a pastor at the First Christian Assembly Church in Montebello, was at a church retreat.

Ms Lavallais' father was also a pastor at the church at the time. According to Denver's Rocky Mountain News -- which has been supplying copy on the trial for The Royal Gazette -- the Rev. Madlyn Tombs testified briefly for the defence.

But she gave little background about her daughter, who was on an electronic monitor for violating probation on juvenile charges of aggravated car theft when Ms Lavallais was killed.

Closing arguments heard in Denver murder trial Asked about her relationship with Ms Lavallais, she replied quietly: "We're family.'' Prosecutors said the pastor distrusted her daughter so much that she wore her jewellery to bed, locked the door to her bedroom and felt it necessary to have a babysitter for Tombs even though she was 16.

"As a parent I trusted my daughter as any other parents trust their daughter,'' the Rev. Tombs said.

"She was on pretrial release. She needed supervision and I was giving it to her.'' Tombs' ex-boyfriend, Joaquin Johnson, testified he gave her the gun that killed Ms Lavallais.

He claimed Tombs said she needed protection from some women who jumped her earlier that day.

Tombs told him during a 4 a.m. phone call she killed a woman who had barged into the house, he added.

Prosecutor Mike Pellow, however, said there had been no intruder.

"That was Latanya Lavallais laying dead in the basement with a full clip emptied into her head.'' Tombs told Police Ms Lavallais gave permission for four boys to come to the house that night.

She also said Ms Lavallais then left to go to a nightclub. She added she found her babysitter shot to death in the morning when she rose to eat Cheerios.

But prosecutor Henry Cooper said Ms Lavallais, who did not drink alcohol, took her responsibility to supervise Tombs seriously and never would have left "Miss Juvenile Delinquent, Miss Ankle Bracelet'' alone and gone to a nightclub.

"Tanya was not going to have guys in there drinking, gambling and smoking weed in the pastor's house while she's in charge,'' Pellow said.

Tombs admitted to Police she picked up shell casings and got rid of the gun.

She claimed not to know anything about laundry detergent that was used to clean blood stains from the sofa.

Mr. Cooper said drops of Ms Lavallais' blood were on the white "Santa's Helper'' T-shirt Tombs wore when she "executed'' her babysitter by pumping six bullets into her brain as close range while she lay on the sofa.

Defence attorney Kurt Metzger, however, said Tombs wouldn't have been so calm with her friends if she were the murderer.

"The district attorney wants you to believe she went downstairs and shot her cousin seven times and had no reaction,'' Metzger said.

"That's not true. She didn't do it. She's innocent.'' Her friends testified they were in Tombs' bedroom when they heard pops or booms.

They said Tombs came in telling them "Tanya's gone'' at about 11.15 p.m.

Later, she refused to permit Ms Lavallais' father and cousin to enter the home after they became concerned about the babysitter's welfare.

Tombs assured Ms Lavallais' mother: "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to my big cousin.''