The neighbour of Tia Sharp's grandmother who is accused of wasting police time during their search for the schoolgirl, is set to learn his fate this afternoon.

District Judge Karen Hammond adjourned the case until 2pm today, telling Croydon Magistrates' Court she would need until at least after lunch to review all the evidence before making a decision.

Paul Meehan lived next door to the 12-year-old's grandmother Christine Bicknell, in The Lindens, New Addington, and told police he saw the schoolgirl leave the house at lunchtime on August 3.

Last week the court heard the dad-of-two hampered the investigation into the schoolgirl's disappearance by telling police he had seen her leave her grandmother's home on August 3.

But in fact her killer Stuart Hazell had already murdered her and hidden her body in the loft. Hazell was jailed for 38 years in May for Tia's murder.

The court heard police deemed the sighting "significant" as it backed up Hazell's claim Tia left the house to go shopping in Croydon.

Last week prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward said Mr Meehan had not been "in league" with Hazell but was perhaps trying to "enhance his (Meehan's) importance within the investigation."

 

Summing up today she said: "He (Meehan) would not be the first or the last person to derive some satisfaction from playing the role of the last person to see the victim of a homicide crime alive.

"If one looks at the tone of the email and the text message to his wife as matters developed and he became an important witness in the investigation, there is perhaps something there of some subconscious enjoyment of the process of becoming an important witness in the investigation.

"The way Mr Meehan expresses himself in these emails and the text message there is a hint of being puffed up at being the focus because of the position he put himself in."

Addressing the defence that Meehan may have confabulated the memory of Tia leaving the address, she added: "If it is right that in some point of that 48 hour period he confabulated and initially believed the memory of having seen Tia at lunchtime on Friday, it is inconceivable that he would not have come forward with the information much, much earlier."

David Healey, defending, said only Mr Meehan can categorically know if what he told police was a lie or what he believed to be the truth at the time.

He said: "We know he has been very willing to be of help, we know from the evidence how he was helping the search and what he offered to do with the search.

"We know how he helped with the internet, bringing his iPad over to the house and emailing details of importance to police officers.

"I conclude Mr Meehan's reliability as an informant is at least open to question and if it is accepted that Mr Meehan's reliability is open to question, that he may have wanted to be seen as a high profile person in this investigation

"Confabulation is a possible explanation. Dr Anderson said it was more likely and he was trying to enhance his status and Dr Johns said it is less likely."

The verdict is expected to at 2pm. Visit our website for the decision as soon as it happens.

TODAY'S TOP CROYDON STORIES