A TEENAGER today admitted the murders of a Blackburn jeweller and his wife during a robbery at their shop.

Christopher Gavin, 19, changed his pleas to guilty midway through his trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Mohammed 'Tony' Karim, 52, and his 48-year-old wife Bilquis The Karims, of Whalley Old Road, Little Harwood, were killed in their Preston jewellers shop in March.

The couple died from multiple stab wounds and there were signs that Mrs Karim had been tortured before her death. Gavin, from Dorman Road, Preston, had earlier denied the killings but pleaded guilty to robbery.

His co-accused, a 17-year-old Blackburn youth who can not be named for legal reasons, has admitted robbery but denies the two murders.

The court heard several thousand pounds worth of jewellery was taken from the shop. Margaret Ward, a friend of Gavin's, had told the jury that the 19-year-old got engaged to his girlfriend Flora Thompson on the night of the double murders.

Gavin gave his fiance an engagement ring stolen from the Karims' shop along with a necklace and bracelet. Flora Thompson has since refused to hand back the ring, the court was told. After getting engaged the couple went out to celebrate in Utopia nightclub, in Blackburn town centre, just hours after the deaths.

Gavin had earlier admitted disposing of a knife just minutes after leaving the jewellers shop. The knife was later recovered by police.

The jumper that Gavin wore on the day of the murders was also recovered by police and found to have contained traces of Mr Karim's blood, the court was told.

Gavin will be sentenced at the end of the trial of the 17-year-old, which is expected to last another week.

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