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A juror could be jailed after she was arrested for listening to her MP3 player during a murder trial.

The Muslim woman is said to have used a hijab to hide earphones and ignored vital evidence from a man who beat his wife to death.

Her arrest only came to light as a 13-day news blackout, imposed by the judge, was lifted on Monday following Allan Wick's conviction at Blackfriars Crown Court, Central London.

From the start of the trial, the juror – who cannot be named but is in her early 20s – allegedly continued to arrive late and left lawyers wondering if she was 'in a world of her own'.

Then a member of the defence team thought she saw a wire under the woman's scarf and the judge believed he could hear faint 'tinny music'.

Finally, another woman juror sent the judge a lunchtime note, which apparently confirmed his suspicions.

The juror was arrested and a body search revealed an MP3 player.

She has been accused of contempt, an offence which can carry a jail term.

Metro

I've just seen this now. Oh dear.

I guess it's the same in the U.K. as here in Ireland - you get called up for jury service, and you can't refuse to serve, (exceptions would be people involved in certain types of employment).

This woman was listening to her MP3 - I suppose at times, other jurors must just 'switch off ' and let their mind wander.

The juror who passed the note to the judge was absolutely correct to do so, of course. I wonder did she know that this would lead to MP3 woman being arrested? Would that mean that if a similar thing happened in the future, a juror would be reluctant to spill the beans on another juror? After all, MP3 woman was said to appear to be 'in a world of her own'.

In any event, jury service can be a difficult and sometimes harrowing experience. 4 of the 6 of us in our office have been called up for it in the past year. I've not been called yet (but then, would anyone seriously think I'd be of sound mind? )