Court told Jill Dando accused seen before killing

LONDON (Reuters) - Celebrity-obsessed Barry George "and no other" person killed popular BBC presenter Jill Dando, a jury was told on Thursday.

The prosecution, in its summing up at the Old Bailey, said police evidence showed George had shot dead the 37-year-old "Crimewatch" presenter on her doorstep in Fulham, west London, in April 1999.

Although prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw said the picture was not straightforward, he asserted that eye-witness accounts had placed George at the scene.

Eight people had seen a "swarthy, Mediterranean man" near Dando's home in the lead up to her murder, the court was told.

One woman picked out George, 48, in an identification parade.

"If you are satisfied that each of the witnesses had seen one and the same man. As a matter of logic you need just one positive ID showing that the man was Barry George to lead you to the inevitable conclusion that he was the gunman," the prosecution said.

The court had earlier heard how George was obsessed with celebrities, adopting the names of various entertainers, and had stalked women.

Laidlaw said prosecutors "do not lack any confidence at all" that George is guilty of murder.

George, who lived near Dando, was originally tried for her killing in 2001 and is now nearing the end of a retrial.