A former Southampton man on trial for the murder of a 'caring and thoughtful' father from Andover has been found guilty.

Justin Griffith, 42, stood trial in Winchester Crown Court for seven weeks, accused of murdering Sean Ember, a 35-year-old father from Andover, who was stabbed on November 29 last year, in Arcaro Road - a crime which he denied committing.

On Friday, June 20, after deliberating for nearly 13 hours, the jury came back with the unanimous verdict that Griffith was guilty of murder.

Griffith, who was wearing a white shirt and purple tie during the hearing, appeared calm.

Judge Angela Morris said it would be "premature" to sentence Griffith on the day and would decide a date for his sentencing hearing in due course.

She addressed the jury to thank them for the time, care and attention they have paid to this case.

Throughout the last seven weeks, the court heard that that Griffith had only met Mr Ember five days before he killed him, and he had taken a dislike to him, accusing him of stealing drugs from him while he was asleep.

Griffith was a "gifted storyteller" who fabricated a cover story involving a third-party intruder to cover his tracks.

Mr Ember was stabbed twice on November 29, in his chest and neck, and subsequently died from his injuries.

Rather than immediately calling for an ambulance at the request of Fynn Richardson, who was in the property in Arcaro Road with Griffith and Sean Ember, Justin Griffith instead called his nephew, Sean Griffith, who was in prison.

Upon arrival, lifesaving attempts were made by the ambulance service, but Sean was pronounced dead at the scene.

Griffith told ambulance call-handlers that there may be someone still in the garden, delaying lifesaving care from getting to Sean.

On police arrival, he reiterated his account that someone had broken in and stabbed Sean. Officers found the rear door to be locked and secured from the inside.

Griffith, formerly of Milton Road in Southsea, denied the murder and the case went to trial on Tuesday, May 6.

Following the guilty verdict, Griffith was remanded into custody. A date for sentencing has not yet been fixed.

Detective Inspector Howard Broadribb, senior investigator for the case, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Sean Ember who was tragically killed by Griffith.

“Today’s verdict is a reflection of the commitment of a large number of police officers and staff who worked tirelessly to investigate this incident and bring a case to the Crown Prosecution Service.

"The collective efforts of all involved in seeking justice for Sean and his family have now resulted in the man responsible for his murder being convicted.”